Just Like You
by CatJetRat
Summary: Harry goes out for a walk in the Hogwarts grounds one night. Guess who he finds camped out in his hiding place, and then the person invites him to a party? Harry Potter Draco Malfoy Slash. COMPLETE! Epilogue UP!
1. New Meetings

**A/N:** Here's the long-awaited (at least by me) and finally inspired, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy fanfic. Yay! We all cheer! I say that a lot, don't I? Anyway, inspiration for this story came to me as I was watching Charmed. It wasn't anything about the plot of Charmed that made me think of it, it was merely the fact that I've been trying to think of ideas for an H/D fic for a while, and it finally came to me. I will be including some songs by Avril Lavigne, such as 'Naked'. Songs are in italics. I know the whole party thing has been done a million times, but I need it for this fic. I'll try to make it as original as possible though, okay? Now that I've blabbed on for long enough, time for the story! It's set at the beginning of Harry's sixth year, in the first week of school, on Friday night. I'm making him kind of sullen and angry in this fic, at least at the beginning, because that's how he acted in the fifth book, and I want to portray my characters as accurately as possible, because I think it makes it a better story, so you don't have to get all confused about why Draco's being nice, ect. I hate it when fanfic writers portray Draco as being all nice and cuddly, because that's just not who he is. Some stories I make an exception for, because they wouldn't work if he was mean. But if Malfoy just abruptly starts acting nice with no explanation at all for why, it upsets me. So if Malfoy will be nice in my story, I'm gonna give a damned good reason as to why. And I'm going to try as hard as I can to make sure that neither Harry nor Draco begins to act like girls, or like little kids. I dislike that too, especially the girl part, because it's just not slash if one of them is a girl. Oops, sorry, I guess I blabbed on for a bit longer than I needed to. Here's the fic! I won't talk anymore.

**Chapter One**

_**New meetings**_

**Harry's POV**

Harry stormed out of Gryffindor tower, leaving Hermione and Ron speechless behind him. He was so sick of everyone asking him how he was doing, if he needed anything, did he need too talk, if he was alright. Of course he wasn't alright! Sirius was dead! Something Harry was trying very hard to not think about. But how could he not think about it if every other second someone else was saying, "Are you okay Harry? It's alright if you want to talk about it." He was perfectly fine not talking about it, and every time he began to become just a little bit happier, and not constantly thinking about Sirius, some new person brought it up again, ripping off the timid scab that had begun to creep its way around the gaping hole in his heart.

Harry shoved open the doors to the grounds, not caring that it was ten o' clock at night and a teacher could come along at any moment and put him in detention for being out past curfew. He didn't care that the deadliest wizard in the world wanted to kill him, and could be lurking in the shadows of the Forbidden Forest. None of that mattered to him. All that mattered is that he gets away from the constant nagging of his 'friends' Ron and Hermione. Harry snorted to himself softly as he headed down to his favorite hiding place, a bush by the lake. Fine friends they were. Friends that hadn't bothered to tell him that they had been going out for the past two years. Friends that seemed to be doing everything in their power to make sure he didn't get over Sirius. Oh yeah, they were great friends. The only reason he even knew about their relationship was because he had walked in on them one day when they were practically doing it on Ron's bed.

Which brought up something else that had been bothering Harry. Obviously Ron and Hermione had been doing a lot sexually, so why hadn't he? He was sixteen, for crying out loud, and the most sexual thing he'd ever done was closed lips kissed Cho Chang, and that hadn't even been particularly pleasant. This gave him the nagging suspicion that something was wrong; very wrong with his attraction to girls, or rather lack thereof. Because the only girl he'd ever been mildly attracted to was Cho, and now he wasn't attracted to her at all, or any other girl. But perhaps he was overanalyzing this. He probably just wasn't attracted to girls because his grief over Sirius's death was still fresh in his mind, and that was all he could focus on.

Harry reached his bush and plopped down beside it, then, with a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, sneaked underneath a little opening in the bush. It was a very large bush, made of spiky thorns, so no one would ever think to go near it. It had a cavern-like space in the middle of it, and was a nice cozy place to go to when he needed to get away. He had cleaned all of the dead leaves and thorns out of the middle of it, and generally kept it tidy, but other then that left no indication that it was ever occupied. He preferred it that way, so there was nothing to remind him that there was an outside world at all.

"_Lumos_," he whispered, and a bright yellow light filled the bush, though fortunately was not seen from the outside. A gasp suddenly sounded from the corner of the bush, and somebody tried to make a quick getaway, but failed, since Harry was blocking the only entrance. Harry grabbed the person by the scruff of their neck, and was surprised at how light the other person was; how easy it was to pick them up. He squinted at the person, trying to see their face, but was unsuccessful, being blinded by the bright light of his spell.

"Who are you?" he said coldly. He did _not_ appreciate someone else being in _his_ hiding place; after all, he had come here to get away from people, not to be met up by others.

The person in his arms didn't respond, only struggled harder to get away from Harry. When Harry didn't release his grip, the other snarled, "Get _off_ of me, Potter."

Harry was so shocked that he immediately let go Draco Malfoy like a hot potato. The second Malfoy was free of Harry's grip he stood up and pulled out his wand, pointing it right at Harry's heart.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Potter?" Malfoy spat furiously. "Or do you always greet people like that?"

Once Harry was over his initial shock he also stood up, fury blazing in his emerald eyes. "Me?" he shouted back. "You're the one who's squatting in _my_ hiding place. And maybe I wouldn't have grabbed you if you hadn't tried to get away so fast."

"I didn't know that you wanted to be in an empty room that badly with me, Potter," Malfoy smirked.

"Screw you, Malfoy," Harry snapped. "What are doing here anyway?"

Malfoy's mask faltered for a moment, but not long enough for Harry to see beneath it. "Wouldn't you like to know." he sneered.

Harry then caught sight of something on Malfoy's face, something that stopped him dead in his tracks. "What's on your face?" he asked, bringing up a hand to touch Malfoy's cheek. Malfoy jerked away from the contact angrily.

"None of your business, Potter," he snarled. "Why do you care anyway?"

Harry stared at him for a few moments. Why _did_ he care? Perhaps it was because he knew what the tell-tale bruise on Malfoy's cheekbone meant. Maybe it was because he had dealt with the same thing he was almost certain the bruise meant Malfoy had dealt with. Or maybe he was just slightly relieved to know that Malfoy was human, just like him, and they had something in common. What ever it was, it didn't make up for what he next said to Malfoy.

"Because my guardians beat me too."

**Draco's POV**

Draco stared at Harry, completely confused. What? Harry Potter, an abused child? No, no that didn't fit at all with the fantasy life he'd imagined Potter having, in which Potter was the king of the house, a spoiled, pampered prince who'd always had everything he could ever need or want. All the love a child could ever need. But Draco couldn't let Potter see how much his words had rattled Draco.

Draco attempted to put on his usual sneer, though it probably came out looking more like a grimace. "What makes you so sure that's why I have a bruise on my cheek? You don't know me, Potter; for all you know I got this while tripping and falling down."

Potter frowned at Draco, and then asked, while searching Draco's face intently, "Is that what happened?"

For some reason, Draco just couldn't bring himself to lie to Potter. He was just so tired of having to hide himself from everyone, and couldn't give himself the strength to lie and say yes. Because even if he did, somehow he knew that Potter would see right through it.

_I wake up in the morning_

_Put on my face_

_The one that's gonna get me_

_Through another day_

_It doesn't really matter_

_How I feel inside_

_This life is like a game sometimes_

_Then you came around me_

_The walls just disappeared_

_Nothing to surround me_

_To keep me from my fears_

_I'm unprotected_

Since he couldn't bring himself to lie, instead he avoided Harry's eyes and said coldly, "Why does it even matter, Potter? Why do you care? We've been mortal enemies since the first day at Hogwarts. For God's sake, my father tried to kill you! Why are you still trying to be the hero?"

Harry (When did it become Harry?) reached out and lifted Draco's chin up until they were staring each other in the eye. Steely gray eyes met emerald green ones. "Because some things are more important than silly childish feuds.

"Such as?"

"Saving your soul from eternal damnation."

Draco snorted, pulling away from Harry's hand. "Didn't know you were religious, Potter," he said, glancing down.

Harry smiled. "I'm not; at all."

Draco looked back up at Harry, a slight challenge in his eyes. "Did it ever occur to you that there are some things beyond saving? That some people are born cursed?"

Harry gave a smirk uncannily like Draco's. "I'm the boy who lived," he said, holding Draco's gaze. "If I can save the entire world from evil, I can do anything."

Draco wasn't entirely sure why he decided to tell Harry the truth; it probably had something to do with the fact that Harry had made him laugh, and for the first time since Draco had known Harry, including that time in Madam Malkin's store, he felt really comfortable around Harry.

"My mom did it," he said, once again looking anywhere nut Harry's face. "My dad used to hit me all the time when I was younger, but my mom never used to. Then, when my dad went to prison, she had to handle everything; the house, the finances, all things she'd never had to deal with when my dad was around. Couple that with something she caught me and a...friend of mine doing in my room, I guess she just couldn't handle it anymore. She slapped me a few times, and then, on the last day of the holidays, when I told her that I wasn't going to change, well, it just made her lose it. She hit me in several different places, hardest here, on my cheek. When I saw the bruises, I used all of my energy just to magically cover them up. I'm actually surprised that they've healed as much as they have."

"What was it she caught you doing?" asked Harry.

Draco eyed him for a few moments before smiling sadly. "I'm not going to tell you, because I've already said too much, and if I tell you, well, you wouldn't understand."

"What makes you so sure?" Harry said, frowning.

"I'm not," said Draco, and his face showed signs of great weariness. "But I don't want to risk you telling the whole school. Be happy I've told you as much as I have. It's odd," he said suddenly, frowning. "I've never opened up this much to anyone before, not even to my closest friends, like Pansy and Blaise. What is it about you, Potter, that makes me want to spill my innermost secrets to you?"

_See how I've opened up_

_Oh, you've made me trust_

_Cuz' I've never felt like this before_

_I'm Naked around you_

_Does it show?_

_And you see right through me_

_And I can't hide_

_I'm Naked around you_

_And it feels so right_

**Harry's POV**

Harry shrugged, suddenly remembering that he had come down here to get some peace and quiet. However, he didn't really mind that he had run into Malfoy. "Maybe you just have problems trusting people, but since I'm your worst enemy, its easy for you to tell me these things."

"Huh?" Malfoy said, looking confused.

Harry shrugged. "I can't explain it in a way that'll make since, but just trust me. Maybe it will make sense some day."

Malfoy nodded, still looking slightly bemused. "I'll keep it in mind Potter, thanks. Now that you've helped me, do you want to go to a party?"

**A/N:** Hee hee, I've kept you waiting for the slash, but don't worry, it'll come next chapter or the chapter after, I haven't decided yet. For now, Harry and Draco are just becoming friends, or at least starting to.

**Teaser:**

Harry couldn't hear properly over the loud music, he leaned closer to Draco and said, "What?"

Draco pulled him away from the loud noises and said, swaying slightly drunkenly, "I like you Harry," and with that pulled Harry close and kissed him hard.

**A/N continued: **Maybe that's a bit mean, but I'm going to keep the teaser like that because it's fun. If you don't want a teaser just leave it in the review and I'll consider not giving one if enough people don't like it. Please read and review; tell me if this story is good enough for a second chapter. I'll respond to reviews in late chapters, and you get cupcakes if you review. Yay! Don't we all like cupcakes? If I get five reviews from people telling me they liked it then I'll keep going. Adios!

-CatJetRat


	2. The Party

**A/N:** Wow, you guys rock! I got 11 whole reviews! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you, and just to beat it into the ground, **THANK YOU!!** I feel so special, being the person who's getting the reviews instead of the person writing them. Personal thank yous are at the bottom. By the way, I'm looking for a beta, so if anyone's interested, just put in a review. I'm kind of surprised that this story got as much support as it did. I thought that if any story of mine was going to be popular, it would be 'Forgotten Love', my Legolas/Aragorn story. I actually thought it was better, but maybe not. If you have time, y'all, please read it and tell me if I should continue it, or just delete it. I don't want to leave it hanging out there if it's a bad story. Or maybe I just need to write the first chapter. Perhaps Prologues don't get much attention. Oh, and the reason Draco opened up to Harry so easily was because he was really tired of holding all his emotions in and hiding them from his friends. Sorry for the confusion! Oh, and a quick question. What name should I call Draco in my fic? Malfoy seems meaner, somehow, and Draco seems kinder. Tell me in a review. In this chapter I'll alternate between calling him Draco and Malfoy. I just want to clarify something, and I'll include it in my bio when I have time. I will always finish my stories. This much I promise you. It might take me a million years, and it might be a bad ending, but I will always eventually close up my stories. I know how much it sucks when you're reading a story and it just stops, so you never get to find out the ending. But don't worry about the million years thing, or bad endings. Right now I have plenty of inspiration. If I hit a dry patch, I'll mention it in my bio. Expect weekly updates of this story. I have enough time in the mornings and on weekends to write, so don't worry; I'm not (at least right now) the type of writer who keeps you waiting for a month, unless I have no inspiration. Whoa, how long have I blabbed on. There's just so much I want to say (which is probably why my choir director always yells at me for talking too much. _Cringes_). If anyone doesn't want me to leave such long A/Ns, put it in a review. In fact, if you want to say _anything_ put it in a review. I need to mention one more thing before the story. I always write my A/Ns before I write the actual story. Just so you know. And by the way, I absolutely no clue where this story is going, or what I want to do with it. Any suggestions? R&R. Please. Also, I'm bumping up the rating to R for slight mention of drug use. Don't worry; nothing extreme. I'm just putting it in b/c it fits with the story. Adios!

-CatJetRat

**_Dedication:_** I am dedicating this chapter to L Moonshade, because you caught the one line in my first chapter that I was really proud of.

**Chapter 2 **

**The Party**

**Harry's POV**

Harry frowned at Malfoy, surprised by this abrupt (and suspiciously nice) offer. Malfoy looked up at Harry, his trademark smirk playing around the corners of his mouth. But for the first time since Harry had known Malfoy, it was a friendly smirk, not one which was hiding a cruel insult.

"I dunno..." Harry said, stalling for time while his brain worked out whether this was a trap or not. "What type of party?"

Malfoy shrugged. "The type that I like to call 'Typical American'."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that we all get drunk, and some kids pass around weed, we have sex with willing girls, that sort of thing," Malfoy said carelessly.

Harry looked back at Malfoy, eyes wide. "There are parties like that at Hogwarts?!" he said incredulously.

Malfoy rolled his eyes, looking slightly annoyed. "Of course there are, Potter, where have you been? Oh, but you're in Gryffindor. I bet the closest thing to alcohol you have at _your _parties is butterbeer. You don't _really_ party. Come with me and I'll show you what it means to party." Malfoy made to pull Harry out of the bush, but Harry drew away.

"I don't think so," Harry said nervously.

"Oh come _on_ Potter, don't be a wimp. It'll be fine, I'll protect you."

Harry snorted. "Trust _you_ to protect _me_? Yeah right. Up until about ten minutes ago we were mortal enemies. Now, because we shared a few intimate moments of revealing our worst secrets to each other, you want me to _trust_ you? It'll take a bit more than that."

Draco looked frustrated. "Well, then what _do_ you want me to do? Listen, I might have done a lot to you, but I've never lied to you. You have no real reason not to believe me when I swear to protect you."

"Fine," said Harry in a grudging voice. "I believe you. But I still don't know if I want to come to this party."

Draco looked like he was about to scream, most unlike him. His normally well-kept hair was slightly mussed up and in tangles. "God, is this the way you act with all of your friends? How do they get you to do anything?"

Harry stared at him, and smiled slightly. "We're friends?"

Draco groaned. "Yes, Potter, no need to get all mushy about it. We're friends, which means that you no longer need to call me Malfoy, or insult my friends, and I have no reason to insult yours."

Harry nodded uncertainly. He liked the way Draco was acting at the moment, but disliked the fact that they had become friends so easily. He didn't really understand how some one could be so cruel to you in all the time that you've known them, and then just suddenly become nice. "And you can call me Harry. But...you're acting really different," he commented. "For so long you seemed like the type of person who had no heart, and who was cruel. But now you seem like almost a completely different person. A nicer person. Why?"

"Hmm...an interesting question, Harry. I'm surprised you even noticed. You didn't really seem like the type to pay much attention to the actions of those around you."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You're right. I didn't even realize until this summer that Ron and Hermione were dating because I saw them going at it on Ron's bed."

Draco broke out laughing. In between gasps, he said, "You...didn't...see how...totally in love they were?" he finished, still choking back laughter. "_I_ saw, and I'm their _enemy_. You're their _friend_ and you didn't see? God, how blind are you?"

Harry felt himself turning red, and avoided Draco's eyes. "I just...they fought all the time...."

Draco sighed, and spoke patronizingly, as though explaining to a child why one plus two equals three. "That's precisely why everyone knew they were in love. They always fought like an old married couple, so it was just so obvious to everyone that they loved each other. And couldn't you tell that they loved each other by how angry Weasley was when Granger showed up at the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I guess a part of me always sort of knew. But what about you? Why are you being so nice?"

"Oh. That," Draco sobered quickly. He looked down, avoiding Harry's eyes. Harry noticed that Draco did that a lot, and briefly wondered why. "I knew that Crabbe and Goyle weren't really my friends. God, those idiots," Draco said in disgust. "Thought that they were being clever, pretending to be my best friends, while secretly reporting my every action to my father. They were horrid actors, always coming up with some foolish lie as to why they were going away at night. They made up all sorts of things, such as they were going for a walk, going to set up traps for the Gryffindors, that sort of thing. I knew what they really doing, and to confirm my belief I followed them one night. It was exactly the way I thought it would be," he said dully. "They were sending owls to my father, telling him what had happened that day, what I had said, what I'd done. So I knew that to please my father I had to act like I worshiped him, hated muggle-borns, and hated you. Basically, I had to be the perfect son, or else he would beat me when I came home. It actually relieved me when you sent him to prison. I couldn't ct like I was happy, in case he ever got out. However, I was giddy inside. I thought, 'At last the beatings are over'. But, well, you know what happened."

Harry looked intently, yet silently at Draco. He wanted to comfort Draco, hold him and tell him everything would be okay. But how could he make a promise like that to some one in such a precarious situation? Then a thought hit him harder than any other that night. He had wanted to _hold_ MALFOY? What was wrong with him? 'Stupid fool,' he chided himself. 'Malfoy acts all soft and kind for one minute and you start to feel mushy and kind towards him'. Nevertheless, it didn't get rid of his feeling of wanting to comfort Malfoy. "I'm sorry," he said, reaching out and grasping Malfoy's hand. It was as cold as ice. Malfoy froze, and then carefully pulled his hand out of Harry's.

"It's not you fault," muttered Draco. "Now let's just stop talking and go to this party."

And Harry, having never been taught how to really resist peer pressure, agreed to go to Malfoy's 'Typical American' party.

**Both POVs**

Draco snuck out of the thorny bush, only getting scratched a couple of times. Harry got out (much more gracefully) after Draco had fully left the entrance of the bush. Draco glanced back at Harry and saw the Gryffindor Prince looking around nervously, as though afraid something was going to jump out and eat him. Draco snickered, and Harry looked back at him defensively.

"Well, it's really dark out, and you never know," snapped Harry. "Where is this party, anyway?"

Draco nodded towards the forbidden forest, now dark as the night, and just as forbidding as ever. It loomed above their heads, like an evil monster just waiting to swallow them.

"In...WHAT?! Are you crazy? Don't you remember what happened the last time we were both in there? And now, for your information, it is filled with a bunch of arrow-happy, human-hating centaurs. Why on earth would you want to have a party in there?!"

Draco rolled his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that night. "Think about it for one second Potter. Where would you suggest we have a party with drinking and drugs and teenage wannabe whores? The castle? Where a teacher could come along at any moment? Or the edge of the forest, where no teacher ever hears us, sees us, or bothers to check if we're even there?"

Harry shrugged. "The edge of the forest is smarter, I guess," he mumbled.

"Precisely. It was my idea in the first place, of course," said Draco, a hint of his old snobbishness coming back.

"Of course," said Harry, holding back laughter.

"Well, come on, the party's just getting started, and I told Blaise and Pansy that I'd only be gone for a few minutes," Draco said, and turned towards the forest. He began walking rapidly towards it, and Harry reluctantly hurried to catch up.

"How are you going to explain me to them?" Harry panted, hurrying alongside Draco.

Draco shrugged. "I dunno... I'll probably just tell them to shut up and that if I want you there no one can hurt you."

"Wonderful plan," Harry muttered grumpily. "By tomorrow morning I'll be little more than a bloody speck on the ground."

"Oh, stop being so cheerful," said Malfoy dismissively. "It won't be _that_ much fun."

Harry snorted, and the two of them walked in silence the rest of the way to the forest. When they were upon the edge of it, Draco walked alongside it, frowning and muttering a few words. His expression suddenly cleared. "Ah, it's this way," he said, and promptly proceeded into the forest. Harry hesitated, pondering whether or not he should just turn around and go back to Gryffindor Tower, where it was safe; where he wouldn't be surrounded in a dark secluded place by a bunch of drunken Slytherins who hated his guts. He was on the point of leaving when Malfoy's voice came floating out of the darkness.

"Are you coming or what, Potter?"

Harry relented. He couldn't let Draco down. Why this was he wasn't exactly sure, but for whatever reason Harry just couldn't leave the blonde.

"Coming!" he called out, and walked into the surrounding darkness, which swallowed him up in a matter of seconds. Anyone bothering to look closely enough would have said that it was as though the teen had Apparated, he disappeared so quickly.

Harry emerged into a large clearing, filled with about fifty or so students, almost all of them Slytherins. There were a few from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and even a couple from Gryffindor. But the main population was Slytherin. Obviously, since, from Draco's comments, it was basically his party. There was some loud American music blasting from a large stereo. Harry figured that to divert any unwanted visitors there were probably silencing spells placed around the clearing, and maybe even invisibility spells too. Oddly, the music was pleasant enough. Right now there was some rap music on, by someone Harry believed was called Usher. There were blue and white lights flashing on and off, creating a mystical feel to the party. Coupled with the smoke coming from smoke makers, there party looked and sounded awesome. There was a dark, secluded corner, where Harry could just make out several couples, both heterosexual and homosexual, snogging in there. There was a table set up, with cokes, and other drinks, but there was also a huge keg right beside the table, and several more behind it. Harry stared around on fascination. He had never been to a party like this before, and it was wonderful. He briefly wondered why he'd never been to a party like this before, and turned to Draco.

"How come I've never heard about parties like these before?" he asked curiously. Surely he would have heard about it from _somebody_; if Gryffindors were going then they would have passed it around to friends, who might have told Harry.

Draco shrugged, frowning. "Well, I only just started having them at the end of last year, so it might not have gotten around to you yet, but..." he paused, as thought wondering whether or not to tell Harry something.

"But what?" Harry pressed.

"Weasley and Granger haven't told you about them?" he said, staring at Harry, an odd expression on his face.

Harry shook his head. "No," he said slowly. "But how would they know..." A darkened expression came over his face. "They've been to these parties, haven't they?" he asked, avoiding Draco's eyes.

Draco nodded. "Yes, they have, and they've snogged here quite a few times too. I can't imagine why they wouldn't tell you."

"I can," said Harry, his hands slowly curling into fists. "'Oh Harry,'" he said, mimicking Hermione's voice. "'Are you okay? Are you sure you're alright? You mustn't stress yourself, just get plenty of rest' blah blah blah." Harry felt furious. "They think I can't handle myself, that I'm too weak to do anything. Why can't they let _me_ decide what I'm capable of?!"

"They're probably just trying to help you, Harry," said Draco, in an uncharacteristically kind tone.

"But the thing is, they aren't," said Harry unhappily. "They're just making it harder to deal with."

Draco shrugged. "Well, Harry, I can't—" Draco began, but was suddenly cut off.

"Draco! There you are! We've all been worried sick, come on, the party is just getting started!" Exclaimed a very excitable Blaise Zabini. He froze at the point of taking Draco's arm when he saw Harry. "And why is _he_ here?" Blaise asked in a hostile tone.

"He is here because I want him to be here," Draco said in a hostile tone, plainly stating that if Blaise argued it would end up unfortunately for him.

Blaise shrugged and muttered that he didn't care, before dragging Draco off to talk with Pansy. Harry took a few tentative steps after them, uncertain of what to do. He felt naked without Draco there to protect him. Not that he normally needed protection, but he was beginning to get noticed by a few additional Slytherins who looked none to happy to see him. He hurried after Draco and Blaise, avoiding the gazes of the other students.

"And so we were thinking," Blaise rambled on, unaware of the fact that Draco was getting more and more irritated the longer Blaise was hanging onto him. "Do you think that maybe we should have a costume party for Halloween? I know it _is_ two months away, but still, no harm in thinking ahead. Pansy thought maybe we should have themes for all our parties, it might add to the enjoyment of all. But I was worried that it might make some students not want to come, because they would feel like they had to dress up. And—"

"Blaise!" Draco exclaimed, now thoroughly displeased. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but must we discuss these things _during_ the party? I already gave you two meetings a week to discuss it to your heart's content, but right now, I want to have fun, so go chat with Pansy some more about this while I get good and drunk."

"Fine," Blaise sulked, and stalked away.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief and looked around for, Harry, quickly spotting him standing a few feet away, an evil grin on his face.

"You have two meetings a week just _planning_ these parties?" he asked, laughing.

"Oh, shut up," Draco snapped. "I had to find some way to keep Blaise from constantly bugging me about them. Alas, it appears that I have been unsuccessful," he said crossly, glancing over his shoulder, as though afraid Blaise might be lurking back there.

Harry laughed, and motioned for Draco to follow him. "Come on," he said, heading over to the table where the drinks were. "Let's get something to drink."

Harry grabbed a paper cup and filled it with beer, before taking a sip. "Didn't know you drank," Draco commented, filling up his own cup.

"I don't," said Harry, grimacing at the horrid taste, before trading his beer in for a Dr. Pepper. It took several gulps before the taste would get out of his mouth.

"You should," Draco said softly. "It helps to dull the pain of real life."

Harry glanced at him, wanting to say wise words of comfort, and yet unable to. He had never been very good at speaking to people, probably due to his abusive childhood. So instead he merely placed a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder and didn't say anything. They stood there in silence, Draco feeling an odd sensation as Harry's hand rested on his shoulder. There was more care in that one touch than he had ever received from either of his parents in his entire life. He doubted very much if they loved him at all. He had never really minded that before, not having any love in his life, and it felt strange, having someone at least act like they cared a little bit for him. He drained his cup before glancing up at Harry.

"Thanks," he said softly. Harry's eyes glittered softly behind his glasses. Not really wise eyes, but intelligent ones. Kind and strong eyes. Draco felt strangely weak under the gaze of the other boy, something he had never felt before. Harry carefully began leaning towards Draco, when—

"Hey! You two! You're blocking the keg! Get out of the way!" An annoyed 7th year snapped this, and both Harry and Draco blushed, before hurrying out of the way. Normally Draco would have snarled at the girl, but he felt too mentally drained to do this. Instead, he grabbed one of the larger paper cups and filled it with beer, determined to get drunk no matter what.

Harry had quickly rushed away from Draco when the girl had shouted at them to move. He hurried back towards the dance floor, trying to ignore the feelings that were churning inside of him. What was going on? He had never ever thought that he would feel _that_ way about Malfoy, and now.... What had changed? Why was everything so different? Was Harry gay? He hadn't even known that he had turned that way when he had been leaning towards Draco, as if to kiss him. It had just felt like the right thing to do. Well, if he was gay, that would certainly explain his lack of attraction to girls, and why it had felt so unpleasant when Cho had kissed him.

Harry realized that people were giving him weird looks, and knew why. He was smack dab in the middle of the dance floor, and he wasn't even dancing. Harry quickly began to dance, realizing that he actually liked the song that was on. It was Sk8ter Boi, by Avril Lavigne. He felt quite relieved that it wasn't a slow song, as he had no one to dance with.

Harry danced to a few more of her songs, and was finally beginning to relax and loosen up, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and saw that it was a very clearly drunk Draco. "Can I talk to you?" Draco said, his voice slurring slightly.

Harry couldn't really hear him, the music being so loud. "What?!" he shouted, leaning closer to Draco. Draco grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him over to a more secluded area, away from all the lights and sounds and people.

"Harry," said Draco in a wavering voice, which was unsurprising, since Draco himself was wavering drunkenly on the spot.

"What is it, Draco?" Harry asked, feeling slightly worried about the blonde.

"I just thought you should know, I really like you, Harry," said Draco, before leaning forward and kissing an astonished Harry Potter on the lips.

**A/N: **Okay, that's all I can write; I'm exhausted. But hey, I got it done, 6 ¼ pages of it, I might add. And if any of you say that this chapter is too short I _will_ find you. Evil snicker. Okay, I'm done being mean. YAY! This chapter is over! It was really hard to write, because it is basically the transition for Harry and Draco from friends too more. If you can't tell, I'm really bad at transitions and suspense. I like to just get right into the action, which is weird, because I really like to read slow moving fics. But don't worry. If you're like me I have some great ideas for suspense builders after this chapter.

**Teaser:**

The shouts of the teachers who had busted their party slowly died away as Harry and a sobered Draco ran deeper into the forest. They hid underneath a bush and collapsed on top of each other, both breathing heavily. Draco's head rested on Harry's stomach as their breathing slowed, and then quickened as they both realized the position they were in.

Draco made to sit up, but Harry held him back.

"No, stay, it's okay," Harry said softly.

"Are you sure?" Draco said nervously.

"Yes, I'm sure," Harry said, before leaning down and tentatively kissing Draco.

**A/N: **Oh, fun fun fun! I love torturing you guys. Now for review responses! Yay! We all cheer! (No, I am not five). Reviewers' names are in bold. I love you all!

**blue meridian**-Here you go, hope you like it! Here are cupcakes! I hope you like them. They are what ever flavor you want!

**L Moonshade**-I absolutely loved that line too. I wrote it, began to write more, stopped, and just read that line over and over again going 'Wow, where did that come from?' I dedicated this chapter to you because you were the one person who seemed to appreciate that line as much as I did.

**Enelya Aldarion**-Thanks for reviewing! Please review more, it makes me feel so special!

**zoomaphonethepirate**-I updated and I will give you cupcakes! Here, enjoy!

**harrypotter,move over**-I've continued! Don't hurt me! Lol. And it's spelled 'schizophrenic'. Just so you know! Hope you like both story and cupcakes!

**Blulily19**-Here you go! Hope you like! You get cupcakes too,. Wee!

**Sanguis Mangia**-Yes, I really like Avril Lavigne and try to fit her songs in wherever and whenever I can. But the lyrics were actually kind of a last-minute thing, I just realized they would fit in right before I posted it. Draco _does_ open up to Harry because he likes him, but Draco doesn't know that, at least not at the time. He has no real clue why he's telling Harry these things. Here, have cupcakes!

**Morena Evensong**-Being evil is very fun, I hope you liked this teaser. I also hoped you like this party. I have no social like, so I basically imagined everything I put in there. Hope it was good! Enjoy cupcakes!

**witchintraining**-I need a beta, I really do, as you might have noticed. You didn't give me your whole email address, so I don't know what to do. I just joined fanfic, so I don't know all the ropes. How does one beta? Do I just send you the update of my story, you edit it, and then send it back to me, or what? Tell me in a review! You get chocolate cupcakes!

**Lucky Dragon Smile**-aw, I hope this chapter was awesome and rocked on. Have cupcakes!

**Princesspepper**-Wow, so enthusiastic, thanx! I feel so special and happy! I give you cupcakes, hope that you like! I also hope you like the chapter!

**A/N: **Special thanks to **harrypotter,move over, **and to **Sanguis Mangia,** who both put me on their favorites list. And to all the people who put me on author alert, but didn't review. Thanks, but it means so much more to me if you review. But still, thanks for putting me on author alert. That makes me feel so special! Ok y'all, I'm out. 'Member to read my L/A piece and tell me if I should just take it down. Adios!

-CatJetRat


	3. The Chase

**A/N: **I'm not entirely sure why, but if I don't update like, two days after my last update, all I can think when I go on fanfiction is, 'God, I haven't updated in like, forever.' Probably b/c I always check, every single day, as to whether my fav authors have updated, which, of course, they never have. And I recently found out one of my authors will be disconnecting my favorite story! WAH! However, on a lighter note, I now have a boyfriend! YAY! After years and years of waiting, I finally have one! He will be taking me to homecoming, and no longer do I have to endure the embarrassment of saying that, sadly, I've never had a boyfriend. Needless to say, of course, my boyfriend knows nothing of this website and will not know of my 'obsession with gay boys' as my mother puts it, until I think he is ready to handle it. Though I don't think any boy will ever be able to handle me. If you haven't noticed, my screws are a little loose. Lol. So I will avoid telling him till I know him a bit better. I will tell him in good time. Unless, of course, my mother decides to go and tell him about it, while grinning at me evilly. Uh-oh, now I'm putting ideas inside her head. Never mind. Okay, I'm acting weirder than usual. I definitely shouldn't have eaten that bar of chocolate before trying to write this. Maybe I'll just go lie down and...NO! I must finish it, I must have more reviews! Oh no, now I'm getting addicted to all the nice things you've all said about my story. 22 reviews! All very, very nice. I feel so special. Reviews make me happy, and they make me all warm and fuzzy inside. Make me happy? Review? Please? I will bake you whatever you want if you do; I'm a really good cook. My dad says I'm making him fat. And if you write a really special review, I might dedicate a chapter to you! I should probably write the story now, even though I want to blab on more. The funny thing is, as I'm writing this, I have no clue what the chapter will be about. I'm just really tired. In fact, I need to go to bed. I have a choir performance tomorrow morning, and I can't stay up all night writing. It's already 11:00. Um...I'll write as much as I can, will probably post it tomorrow, although for you reading this, today. Uh...yeah, I don't really understand it either. Just enjoy the chapter, and don't listen to my insane blubbering. Adios!

-CatJetRat

**_Dedication:_** I am dedicating this chapter to **musicgirl141**, because you caught the one sentence in my second chapter that I worked the hardest on.

**Chapter 3 **

**The Chase**

**Harry's POV**

Harry was so startled by Draco's kiss that for a moment all he could do was stand there, completely shocked. When he regained control of his senses, he took a firm hold on Draco's shoulders and pushed him away. Draco let out a small whine of protest and tried to kiss Harry again, but to no avail.

"Draco," said Harry in a guarded voice, avoiding Draco's anxious lips. "I don't think you really understand what you're doing. You very obviously are drunk, and I think that I let you proceed, you will regret it in the morning. Do you understand?"

Draco gazed at Harry with glazed-over eyes, and Harry sighed; he might as well have asked the keg if it understood. "Come on you," Harry said, putting one of Draco's arms around his shoulders. "You need to go to sleep."

Draco mumbled something incoherent, and leaned against Harry trustingly for support. Harry had to admit that it felt good to have Draco leaning against him, but also knew that if he acted on his feelings, he would hate himself forever for it. Harry marveled at how, in one night, he went from hating Draco Malfoy completely to being on the verge of falling for him. It felt as though that night had lasted for a million years, although, in reality, it had only been a couple of hours since he had stormed out of Gryffindor tower. Harry reflected on what had happened right before he'd left.

_Flashback_

_Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room shortly after dinner had ended. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was empty. No one there to lust over him, bombard him with more questions, or try and get him to 'talk'. _

_Harry quickly began walking towards the boy's dormitory, thinking that if he could just get up those stairs and to his bed without anyone messing with him, he would be okay. The bitter pain that had been growing inside his heart ever since Sirius had died might finally begin to decrease a little, and his soul that had been torn to shreds and left to rot might, ultimately, begin to heal. Although this was probably wishful thinking on his part, it was good to at last have a little bit of hope for _something._ Unfortunately, that little ray of hope shining in his forlorn heart was soon destroyed, and laid to ruin among the rest of his spirit._

_"Harry? Is that you?" Hermione said this, coming up from behind the couch, Ron close behind her. Harry knew perfectly well what they had been doing, but didn't care enough anymore to comment on it._

_"Yes," he said stiffly, crossing his arms._

_Hermione looked him up and down, then said, "It's okay to talk about it, you know. We're always here for you, if you ever need a helping hand. You do know-" _

_"Of course I know!" Harry spat out. "How can I ever bloody forget about it; you just have to remind me of it every damn day! Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I don't need help? That some things have to mend alone? No, of course not. Little Miss. Perfect, you just have to help everyone one else out, and fix everybody's problem, don't you. And then you drag your little pet around," He motioned at Ron, "To help you get people to do your bidding. Why can't you just leave things be? Every time I begin to forget about it you bring it up again! You're supposed to be my friend, right? Well, then butt out and let me deal with it alone!"_

_And with that he swept out of the common room, leaving Hermione on the verge of tears and Ron almost as red as his hair._

_End of Flash back_

Harry felt anger stir once inside of him as he thought of Hermione, but it was brief and weak, and wasn't powerful enough to divert his attention away from the blond in his arms. Harry glanced down at Draco, and was slightly startled to see how innocent and defenseless he seemed. Even when Draco had told Harry about being beaten by his parents, the walls around his feelings had never come down. When he had spoken, his voice was cold and flat, never revealing that he felt anything, or was even human. But now...now it was as though there was actually something human and sweet under his cold exterior.

Harry then realized that Draco was unconscious, and could not be forced to walk any longer. Harry considered carrying Draco, but no, that would be too hard. While Draco seemed small, he was in fact a little bit bigger than Harry, and could not be carried.

Harry contemplated for a few moments as to what to do, and realized that he didn't really need to do anything. Before Draco had passed out, Harry had managed to get the two of them off of the dance floor, and to a place where they wouldn't be stomped on.

Harry gently laid Draco down on the grass, and got out his wand. "_Accio potions textbook_," he muttered, and a few seconds later his potions textbook came whizzing into his hands. He flipped through the pages idly, trying to find a good sobering potion. After a few minutes he came upon a potion that was supposed to cure "even the drunkest witches or wizards." Harry chuckled softly to himself. Right now Draco was definitely in that category. Harry looked over the ingredients and saw that it took at least a week to make. He groaned, before realizing that Snape probably had it in his cupboard of endless and useless potions.

He took a chance and decided to try and summon it. "_Accio sobering potion_," he hissed, feeling slightly nervous about trying to steal something out of Snape's private cupboard, even when Snape was far away and asleep. Shortly afterwards, the potion came zipping into his outstretched hand. Smirking at his own brilliance, he pried open Draco's mouth and emptied the whole bottle into his mouth. Draco swallowed reflexively, and coughed. He then immediately sat up straight, eyes wide and focused.

**Draco's POV**

"Wow, they weren't kidding about this stuff," Draco heard Harry mutter, and saw him examining an empty bottle and banishing his potions textbook.

"What...what's going on?" Draco inquired, awake but confused.

"You...you got a little tipsy there for a moment," Harry, said, suppressing a grin. "And a little horny."

"Huh? What do you...?" It then all came rushing back to Draco, and he went from deathly pale to tomato red so fast that he doubted Harry could even catch the change. "Oh god," Draco said, growing redder and redder with each passing second. "I didn't...I did, didn't I?"

"Yes you did," Harry said, now unable to control the growing laughter inside his chest. He burst out laughing so hard that soon he was almost as red as Draco. He rolled on the ground, howling with laughter at the look on Draco's face.

"How did you revive me?" Draco asked, trying to keep a dignified look on his face, and avoided the previous topic.  
Gasping for breath, Harry said, "I used a sobering potion." He thrust the vacant bottle at Draco.

Draco scrutinized the empty container carefully with narrowed eyes and furrowed brow. And then he froze. "Where did you get this?" He asked, scarcely daring to breathe.

Harry shrugged. "Summoned it from Snape's dungeon, why?"

The bottle fell from Draco's suddenly nerveless fingers. "Oh my god you didn't!" He gasped, standing up.

"Yeah, I did, why?" Harry said, looking puzzled.

"Quiet!" Draco snapped, listening intently. And then he heard exactly what he knew he'd hear, but really hadn't wanted to pick up. It was the sound of voices. Teacher's voices, to be exact. Teachers' voices that sounded angry, and were headed this way.

"You fool!" Draco hissed at Harry, furious.

"What did I do?" Harry said, feeling slightly angry. "You know, I could have just left you out here, unconscious."

"No, instead you had to summon something from Snape's office to wake me up, no doubt waking _him _up, and leading him to us so that we could be caught, and put in detention for the rest of the year, or maybe even expelled!"

Harry went white. "Oh #$ !#&." he said, exercising some very colorful language he had learned from the twins last summer when they had come back from America.

"Watch your mouth," Draco muttered. If there was one thing he could not stand, it was proper English people sounding like trashy Americans.

"Sorry," Harry said, shrugging. "I thought the situation deserved a bit of cussing."

"Whatever," Draco snapped, then pointed his wand at his throat, and mumbled, "_Sonorus!_" And then he spoke out loudly, "Everyone, pay attention now! The teachers are coming, they're onto us! for your lives! I repeat, the teachers are coming, run away!" Draco pointed his wand at his throat, and whispered, "Quietus." He held out his hand to Harry, who took it uncertainly. "You heard me, RUN!" He shouted, and yanking Harry along beside him began sprinting out of the forest, running as fast as he could. All around tem the party was in disarray. People were screaming, Pansy and Blaise were trying to quickly and magically pack up the refreshments and stereo from the party, people were running into and out of the forest, and the angry shouts of the teachers were growing louder. But soon they were away from all that, and the dark forest wrapped them up like a cold blanket.

"Why are we going this way?" Harry gasped, confused.

"It's away from the teachers, can you really complain?" Draco shouted over his shoulder.

Harry stopped dead, yanking Draco's arm back. "Yes, I believe I can."

"What's your problem?" Draco snapped.

"We're in the Forbidden Forest!" Harry yelled, "That's my problem. And you're dragging me off to god knows where and into the arms of god knows what, without any thought whatsoever. Do you remember what happened last time we were both in here? There's a reason it's forbidden."

"I'm aware of that," Draco said, in a frosty and deadly voice. "And we wouldn't be in here if you hadn't tipped the teachers off."

"I wouldn't have 'tipped the teachers off' if you hadn't decided to go and become as drunk as possible. You know, you have a lot of nerve—"

His words were suddenly cut off by a pair of warm lips, exactly the opposite of the mood of their owner, enveloping them. The kiss was amazing, and this time, Harry didn't feel guilty about not stopping it. He leaned in, and felt awkward, and uncoordinated, but Draco's skillful lips and tongue—oh yes, there was tongue—made up for that.

Harry then suddenly jerked away when he heard the sound of several footsteps and angry voices getting closer. "Come on," he muttered, and, grabbing Draco's hand, took over the position of leading them off to god knows where and into the arms of god knows what without any thought whatsoever.

The shouts of the teachers slowly died away as Harry and Draco ran deeper into the forest. They hid underneath a bush and collapsed on top of each other, both breathing heavily. Draco's head rested on Harry's stomach as their breathing slowed, and then quickened as they both realized the position they were in. Draco made to sit up, but Harry held him back.

"No, stay, it's okay," Harry said softly.

"Are you sure?" Draco said nervously.

"Yes, I'm sure," Harry said, before leaning down and tentatively kissing Draco.

They kissed for several minutes, neither of them sure why they were kissing. Mere hours before they had both been grave enemies, and now...it was as though the last five years had never happened, and they were both eleven again, confused, scared, both just trying to understand what was going on. If any of their friends had seen them, the friends would have insisted that one of both of them was under a spell. But the two boys were not under a spell, no, they were both in full control of their mind and senses. They knew what they were doing, and either one of them could have stopped it if he really wanted to. However, they both could tell that it shouldn't be stopped. They didn't know why, but it was as though they both shared a strange mutual bond. A bond that was much stronger than their dying hate for one another. A hate born merely because of who their parents were. A hate that was never meant to be.

_I hate everything about you_

_Why do I love you?_

_You hate everything about me_

_Why do you love me?_

Harry and Draco were so into their kiss that they didn't even notice it when someone peered under the bush they were hiding to see them kissing, and were consequently extremely startled when that person spoke.

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

**A/N:** I'm sorry, but I just had to stop it there; it seemed like such a good ending to a chapter. I know, it's about page shorter than my last chapter, but I didn't want to drag it on for another page and end it at a bad place. Who is this mystery person that interrupted them? Guess in a review. The italics at the end are taken from a song I heard on the radio that I just had to include. I don't know its name, or who sings it. If you know, please tell me. Here's the evil teaser!

**Teaser:**

"Harry, I have to join my father, you understand that, don't you? If I don't he'll kill me, or you, or anyone I care about!" Draco protested to an angry Harry.

To hide the hurt he was feeling, Harry sneered at Draco. "You're just afraid of him. You're a coward. If you really cared about anyone but yourself you would stay on Dumbledore's side. My side. You're just a stupid cowa—"

**SLAP**!

Harry's head jerked backwards as Draco's hand connected with his cheek. Draco stood there frozen, staring at his hand, as Harry sank to the floor, tears in his eyes.

**A/N: **That teaser was a bit more depressing than my other ones, did you notice? I can't talk much longer, because I need to get this posted and my computer is annoyingly slow. So onto the reviewer responses! Reviewer's names are in bold. Again, I love you all!

**shewolf- **Thanks mom, I love you too.

**harrypottermoveover**- Thanks, and I am reading Princesspepper's stories; they're really good. I read your story too, but my stupid computer froze up when I tried to review. I really liked it, please continue. Thanks! You get cookies!

**RandomnessDotCom- **I update for you! Have cookies!

**Lady Phoenix Slytherin-** Here you go, hope you enjoyed chapter and cookies.

**Morena Evensong**-Thank you for catching that, I try really hard to make them work. Have cookies!

**moonorb13-** Yeah, I know a lot of people don't like her, but I heard her song 'Complicated' and have forever been her fan. Thanks for respecting my love of her. I give you lots of cookies!

**slash-lover55- **I have written more, hope you like! Have cookies!

**RosannaMalfoy- **Lol, I love teasers too. I first found out how evil they can be when I was reading a really good story that was really good and had a teaser at the end, and then the author never updated! I was sooooo mad. But don't worry, I'll always update. Hope you like this chapter as much as the first one! Cookies for you from me!

**Alora- **Thanksforsayingmy story is cool! Harry and Draco forever! You get lots of cookies!

**PrincessPepper- **Hey, what's up? Thanks for adding me to your favorites list; it makes me feel soooooooooo special! I'm glad you liked the chapter so much. I kind of thought it was a bit of a joke, of at least that it was amusing. Interesting how I alternate so quickly from angst to humor, huh? Btw, I've read some of your stories, which are REALLY good. I hope you like this chapter too! Chocolate chip cookies I give to you!

**musicgirl141-** If you haven't noticed, I dedicate my chapters to people who comment on certain sentences. I do this because when you do that, it lets me know that you read my story and _really _took it in. That makes me feel so special! I hope you like this chapter too. You get cookies!

**A/N: **That's all the reviews, I think. There's going to be a bit of white space after this because I just started a new page, and at eight o' clock in the morning, even _I_ don't have enough to say to fill up a whole page. Hey, and just b/c I posted the story later in the week does _not _mean I won't update till Wednesday next week. Though it might, since this weekend is homecoming. Still, I doubt it. But since I tend to write best when I'm depressed, you should probably all hope something horrid happens to me at homecoming, like in Carrie, so I'll write a bunch of really depressing chapters. Oh well, that's all I have to say, mainly because it's eight and I have to go to school, but want to get this uploaded beforehand. Btw, this chapter was written over the course of about five days, so the stuff I said at the beginning doesn't apply now, except for the boyfriend part and a few other things. My choir performance went quite well. Adios!

-CatJetRat


	4. Caught

**A/N: **OMG, I am sooooooo sorry for the delay! I've just had so much other stuff that I needed to take care of. I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated! But thanks for all your wonderful, beautiful reviews. Part of the reason I don't want to post another story until I've finished this one is because I want to be able to respond to all my amazing reviewers! Review notes are, again, at the bottom. Anyway...I think y'all should know, you need to check my bio for news! My bio is my means of communicating to you, my readers, in between chapters. Look under New news, and you'll probably see something new from me. If you haven't already figured it out, I like to talk a lot. Obviously. Um...the teaser I put in my last chapter will not be appearing in this one. That teaser was a preview for what **_will_ **happen in later chapters. But don't worry, (or do) there will still be an evil teaser at the end, just 'cause I'm nice like that. Hmm...since I can't think of anything more to say, onto the chapter! Wow, this is my shortest A/N yet. There might be some songs by Avril Lavigne in this, I dunno yet. I'm feeling very songy today. Yes, I know songy isn't a word, but I like it. I will include a Disclaimer in this chapter, and this chapter only, because I don't want to have to write one over and over again. I think one should be enough. Enjoy this next chapter that I give to you!

-CatJetRat

**Disclaimer:** Believe me, if they were mine, you'd know. They all belong to J.K. Rowling! Only Chris, Draco's neighbor, belongs to me, and he isn't even mentioned very much!

**Dedication: **This chapter is dedicated to PrincessPepper, for being my most faithful reviewer!

**Chapter 4**

**Caught**

**Harry's POV**

Harry froze with his lips still on Draco's, as Snape's icy voice cut through the warm night. Draco slowly and carefully pulled away from Harry and sat up.

"Hello professor," he said in a dignified voice. "What brings you out here on this fine evening?"

Harry choked. They were about to be expelled and Draco was making _jokes_? Harry also sat up, fully planning on strangling Draco, but be fore he could, Snape spoke again.

"Oh, nothing," he said in a silky yet dangerous voice. "I was just sleeping peacefully when I heard a loud crashing and banging from my private cupboard. When I went to open it a certain potion came whizzing out, and flew down to the Forbidden Forest. Well now, I couldn't have random potions taken from me and not investigate, could I? No, so I rounded up some teachers and we all went down to the forest to see what was up. Why, imagine my surprise when we came upon a camp that had several concealment spells drawn up around it, and, after we had taken down those spells, found the remains of a party, with students scattering in every direction, and some unconscious on the ground?"

"I can't imagine," said Draco lightly. "And what did you do then?"

"Well, after gathering from a very drunken student that the party was _Draco Malfoy's_, what do you think I did? I summoned his father from his mansion, where his father had _been released to the previous day_."

Draco went white, but he struggled to keep his voice calm as he continued his conversation with his potions teacher. "Oh? And after that?"

Harry could sense a climax coming, and wanted desperately to stop it, but could tell from the angry looks both Snape and Draco shot his way, that if he so much as breathed too loudly, that he would be massacred by the both of them. Harry pursed his lips and looked back at Snape, feeling dread growing in the pit of his stomach. Snape continued.

"We went off in search of his son, whom we had also found out from that student

had run off into the forest, hand in hand with _Harry Potter_. About fifteen minutes later, we heard the sounds of slight _groaning_ coming from a bush. Thinking that it would be _one_ _student_ with a headache from drinking too much, I casually peered underneath. Again, imagine my surprise when I saw the very student I was looking for, Draco Malfoy, _snogging with his archenemy, Harry Potter_."

Draco swallowed. "Well, professor, I—"

"Oh shut up!" Snape snapped, grabbing both Harry and Draco by the scruffs of their robes and dragging them out of the bushes. He shoved them on the ground when they were both fully out of the bushes. He then crossed his arms and glared down his long nose at them.

"Well, do you two have anything to say for yourselves? Speak!" Snape barked.

Harry wanted to say something, but he seemed to have developed a bad case of lockjaw. Draco glanced at him, and, seeing that Harry was in no way capable of speech, swallowed, and spoke. "Professor, see, since it was right after the holidays, a bunch of students wanted to have a sort of, end of summer party, before we really had to get down and work. Not wanting to disturb the members of the castle, we decided to have the party in a clearing I stumbled upon in the Forbidden Forest."

Harry had no clue where all the bull that was coming out of Draco's mouth had come from, but if it got them out of being expelled, that was all that matter. He could already see Snape beginning to relax slightly and get less angry.

"...So, after I accidentally knocked myself out, Harry here," Draco motioned at Harry, "Decided to summon a potion trying to wake me up. I'm _so_ sorry if I disturbed you while you were sleeping." Draco finished his story and gave his potions professor a winning smile.

Snape rolled his eyes, but gave a small smile to his favorite student. "Yeah, sure Draco. But what about him?" Snape gestured at Harry. "What's your story Potter? And how did you managed to get to the point where you were desperately kissing Mister Malfoy?"

Harry, like Draco, swallowed before speaking. Now was the time to come up with the same bullshit that Draco had been spewing out. Trying to keep his voice as light and casual as Draco's had been, he said, "Well, I just fancied a walk tonight, and walked into Draco. After the usual insult trading, we got to talking, and found that we had a lot in common, and liked each other quite a bit."

Snape snorted. "Right. It doesn't surprise me, really. I always knew you were a fag, just like your father."

Unfortunately for Severus Snape, Harry Potter didn't take very kindly to being insulted, not least while the person was insulting his father at the same time. Harry gracefully got to his feet, brushed his robes off, glared at Snape, and said, "You can kiss my ass, _Snivellus_," right before performing some very quick wand work, and turning Snape into a toad(A/N: Cliché, I know, but I couldn't resist. ;-).

The sound of clapping came from somewhere on Harry's left. Lucius Malfoy came into view, looking slightly amused, but his eyes were cold as they gazed upon Harry.

"Very good, Potter," he drawled, and Harry was chillingly reminded of when Mr. Malfoy had said that exact same thing to him before the summer, in the Department of Mysteries, before Sirius had died. Harry tightened his grip on his wand, raising it to be ready to defend himself. Lucius Malfoy laughed softly at his tense form.

"Relax, Potter, I have no quarrel with you. I am here to collect my son."

Harry almost instinctively moved in front of Draco to protect him. Looking annoyed, Draco pushed Harry out of the way. Lucius smiled coldly at his son, gesturing for Draco to follow him. Draco glanced back at Harry, briefly grabbing his hand and squeezing it. A small smile crossed his sad pink lips, before he released Harry's hand to follow the dragon into its lair.

"Until next time, Potter," said Lucius with a chilling laugh that sent shivers up Harry's spine. Draco and Lucius were quickly enveloped by the darkness of the forest. Harry stared at the space where Draco had been standing in a longing way, before turning his attention to a very irritated toad. Uh-oh.

**Draco's POV**

Draco followed his father into the forest, feeling extremely nervous. There were several things his father could be angry with him about. Draco slowly ticked them off in his head. First, Lucius could be angry with him for throwing a party in the Forbidden Forest with drinking and drugs. Second, Lucius could be angry with him for making out with Harry Potter. Was that it? No, Lucius could also be angry because of what he had done over the summer. Well, that was along the same lines as snogging Harry Potter. Harry would be worse, though, because Lucius could say that Draco was 'consorting with the enemy.' Draco thought about all of the possible reason Lucius could be angry with him, and came up with one conclusion: he was so, so dead. Best get it over with quickly.

"Father, I—" he began, but Lucius cut him off.

"Draco, don't worry," he said, smirking. "I do not care that you held a party out here. I don't even care that you drank so much you passed out. I also don't care that you are gay. I suppose I always knew, ever since that day you came out of your mother's powder room wearing her make-up."

"All little boys try on their mother's make-up," Draco protested.

"Yes," Lucius agreed smoothly. "But not all little boys manage to put it on perfectly without any practice. And your choice of clothes, the fact that you never showed any interest in girls...it was obvious. But I don't care. I understand that I am very strict with you, and don't allow you much freedom when you are around me. But one thing that I have never, and will never restrict you on, is who you love. That is not my concern, and as long as it doesn't affect your work, I do not care."

Draco stared at his father, eyebrows raised, taken aback but grateful for this sudden and rare kindness. "Thank you," he said, and although he was happy that he wouldn't have to sneak around behind his father's back with guys, there was also something that seemed wrong with his father's statement.

"Wait..." he said, frowning. "Why are you okay with this? Mother became very upset when she saw me kissing Chris, the boy next door."

Lucius bit his lip, trying to remember who Chris was; for he didn't spend nearly enough time at home to really know the neighbors. "Oh," he said, smiling. "Him. Your mother became angry because when growing up, she thought for a time that she was gay. She fell in love with a young girl; unfortunately, the girl was a muggle-born, and her parents refused to let Narcissa be with her. This upset Narcissa very much, and for some strange reason made her very bitter towards gay people, probably because she couldn't feel angry towards her parents. When she saw you kissing Chris, it probably brought up some very bad memories for her." Lucius sighed. "I don't think Narcissa ever really stopped loving her, even after Narcissa's girlfriend died. I've always pitied her that. I managed to forget my first love, even though it pained us both greatly. The odd thing was we were both gay, and both forced into a marriage we didn't want to be in. However, while I was able to turn that anger into making sure you never had to suffer like that, your mother didn't. Instead, as the years went by, she just kept convincing herself that it was her girlfriend's fault. But I will speak to Narcissa. Perhaps I can help her have a change of heart. I should have gotten her help when there was still time to help her wounds."

Draco gaped at his father, shocked by this sudden, and extremely unexpected, revelation. "Oh," was the only word his mouth and mind seemed capable of forming.

Lucius shook his head. "But old boyfriends and girlfriends is not what I need to speak with you about."

Draco stared up at his father, and later he would say that his eyes probably looked innocent, and sweet, like a kitty looking up at its new owner. What Lucius did next was the equivalent an owner slapping the kitty upside its little head.

"I need you to join the Dark Side, Draco."

And Draco knew he couldn't say no. If he said no, it would make his father very angry. But he knew if he said yes, he could never have Harry. But there was also something that felt wrong about saying yes. As though his whole life had been leading up to this one moment, and if he said yes, his life would end. He wouldn't die, but his life would end.

_I cannot find a way to describe it_

_It's there, inside_

_All I do is hide._

_I wish that it would just go away_

_What would you do?_

_You do if you knew_

_What would you do?_

_All the pain_

_I thought I knew_

_All the thoughts lead back to you_

_Back to what_

_Was never said_

_Back and forth_

_Inside my head._

_I can't handle this confusion_

_I'm unable_

_Come and take me away_

Draco slowly opened his eyes, unaware that he had ever closed them. There was only one thing he could say, and that was....

"Yes."

**A/N: **I am like, going at top speed here, trying to get this updated. So, quickie version of my usually long speeches. I went to homecoming, my boyfriend didn't go because he hurt himself, and I broke up with his a few days ago because he dissed gay people, which was _not_ cool. Okay, on to reviewer responses! Remember, I love you all, and check my bio if you want to hear from me!

**Slash-Lover-** Thanks for saying my story is good! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have cookies!

**musicgirl141- **Oh, you're so nice to me, it makes me feel all happy when you point out really good sentences. Funny how you're always able to point out the sentences I worked the hardest on. Hey, would you like to be my beta? I don't have one, and you seem good at recognizing errors. Usually I don't need a beta, but it would be nice to have someone else look at it before I post it to point out mistakes to me. Thanks for being so nice! You get cookies!

**my.chemical.romance.rocks-** I've updated! Probably not as soon as you would have liked, but still. Thanks for your kind comments, and for telling me who sang that song! Cookies for you!

**lizziepooh29- **Oooh, thanks. Yes, Harry and Draco always do seem to be disrupted at the worst times, don't they? You get cookies!

**RosannaMalfoy- **I'm glad you liked the cookies. Yes, as you can see, it was Snape who found them, sorry if it freaked you. Enjoy more cookies, and enjoy this chapter!

**Alora- **Hopelike who it is. Harry and Draco forever, totally. Have cookies! I hope you like this chapter, even without any slash.

**xkissmeyoufoolx- **Thanks for your comments, from now on I will have them say mum. But I may have forgotten in this chapter; I was writing a little quickly. Enjoy!

**Grimy Grunhilda Grunt- **Thanks! Enjoy the chapter and cookies!

**zoomaphonethepirate- **Yes, the teaser is sad. You were right, it is Snape, well, Snape _and_ Lucius, but close enough. Have fun eating cookies! Hope you liked the chapter.

**Princesspepper- **Yes, and I've updated again! Hope this chapter is as good as the last one. I made Harry mature because that's how I imagine him acting. I think that Draco would be the one to take advantage of the situation and I didn't want to confuse the two. But I agree. If it had been me, I would have totally taken advantage. Well, maybe not. Thanks for the congrats on my boyfriend, unfortunately I don't have one any more. I had a great time at homecoming, though, even w/o him. I had no idea that the title of my chapter was the title to one of their songs, but thanks for telling me. I really like them too, or at least, I like the songs that I hear on the radio by them. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the cookies!

**shewolf- **Chill, mom. I got that from all the other fanfic stories I read. And no, I plan on making Draco and Harry stay together. Love ya.

**TruthxInxShadow- **Thank you, and I've continued! Have cookies!

Kittie Kat- Oh my god, my favorite HP author reviewed my story and thought it was good! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I'm hyperventilating! OMG, she also asked for tips from me! Thank you sooooo much! Anyway, yeah, I noticed that POV switching isn't used a lot any more, but I wanted to tell the story from behind both their eyes, so I decided to use it. Thanks for saying you liked what I write! I try to switch from angsty and serious to funny and silly very quickly, but I don't think I'm doing a very good job. Oh well. Yes, you can call me Kits if you want. I actually derived my entire name from cats. Cat b/c I love cats, Jet b/c my kitty's name is Jet, and Rat just because it rhymes with Cat. Review more, please! It makes me feel special!  
A/N: Okay, ya'll, I'm out. Review and you'll get a response, promise! Oh yeah, the teaser. Here it is: 

**Teaser:**

"She dumped me Harry," Ron said miserably.

Harry gasped, sitting up. "What? Why didn't you tell me?"

Ron shrugged. "I dunno. Guess I was still angry with Hermione and the one she left me for."

Harry stared at his friend. "Who did she leave you for?"

Ron spoke, "It was...."

**A/N: **I had way too much fun with that. Okay, gotta go. Hope you liked the chapter. Who did Hermione leave Ron for? Guess in a review! Bye!

-CatJetRat


	5. Choosing Sides, Kind of

**A/N: **Yes, yes, I am finally writing this chapter. Don't be mad at me! I've just had a lot of schoolwork to do and not much time to do it. But I am finally updating! See? On a happier note, this chapter will also be a songfic. Sorry to all you reviewers who hate songfics, but I like them, so too bad. I know I do Avril Lavigne a lot, but her songs just fit so perfectly with what I want to write. So I will include her song, 'Forgotten' in this one. Yay! Okay, enjoy this next chapter! I hope it gets as much support as my last one. I got **_16_** whole reviews!! At least, I think it's 16. Anyway, I love you guys, you are so awesome! Reviews make me happy, and they make me want to update faster, though sometimes I can't. Anyway, hope you like this one! BTW, thoughts are in _italics, _as are songs. I hope that won't be too confusing. But I think you'll probably be able to tell the difference. Oh, and review responses are at the bottom. I love you all! Adios!

-CatJetRat

**Chapter 5**

**Choosing Sides, Kind of**

**Harry's POV**

Harry stared down at the toad, uncertain of what to do. 'He looks better this way,' Harry mused, studying Snape. Harry made to pick up the toad, but then it peed on him. Harry cursed, dropping the toad. It gave him a look that plainly stated, 'That's just the beginning of the punishment you're going to get.'

Harry sighed, cleaning his hand with the scourgify spell and scratching his head. What he would really like to do would be to conjure a terrararium and sell Snape as a pet. Unfortunately, this was not an option, considering the fact that for one he didn't know how to conjure things; Hermione probably did, but Harry didn't really feel like asking her for anything at the moment. Two, people would question Snape's disappearance, and also Harry doubted Snape would make a very pleasant pet. Feeling grumpy, Harry waved his wand, returning Snape to normal. He felt grateful to Professor McGonagall for her tutoring of him over the summer. He would have to thank her the next time he saw her.

Unwillingly, he looked up at Snape, who seemed furious. "You are so expelled, Potter," he snarled.

Harry knew perfectly well that Dumbledore wouldn't expel him, not now, when they were on the verge of war and Harry was destined to kill the Dark Lord. However, he didn't much appreciate being threatened. He briefly considered turning Snape into something nastier, like a cockroach, but decided against it. Instead....

Harry turned his wand upon himself and transfigured himself into a cat, clothes, wand and all. He had thought before that the only way to become an animal would be to become an animagus, but that Professor McGonagall had told him that really skilled wizards could transfigure themselves into animals, like Cedric Diggory did in the first task.

Harry knew would regret running away later, but right now, he was tired. He could deal with Snape later. Harry went streaking off through the Forbidden Forest towards the castle, with Snape cursing and shrieking behind him.

Soon he reached the castle and not long after the safety of Gryffindor Tower. Harry slinked into the room, peering around. It seemed to be empty, so he fully slipped inside the portrait hole. Unfortunately....

"Harry? Is that you?" Ron's voice drifted over from the couch, sounding slightly drunk.

_God dammit, Ron!_ Harry thought angrily. _Why are you still awake? You're supposed to be asleep! Oh, curses...._ Harry considered just pretending to be a random black cat with green eyes, but...oh, no. He just _had_ to show Ron his new transfiguration ability, didn't he? Now Ron was staring at him with unfocused eyes.

_Maybe if I just stay still, he won't see me, maybe... no..._ Ron was now standing up, a slightly nervous smile on his face. "Hey, Harry, what's up?"

Sighing slightly, Harry transfigured himself back into a human. "Nothing, Ron, just getting back."

"Where did you go?"

Harry shrugged. "No where, I just...went for a walk." He didn't really feel like giving a full recount of what his night had been like; because he was already tired. Damn, he had come to the Gryffindor tower to get _away_ from people. Grr.... Harry calmed himself down and looked more closely at Ron. Tousled hair, bloodshot eyes, dried tears on his face, alcohol on his breath; Hermione must have broken up with him again. However, Harry decided to play dumb. He walked over to the couch, and sat down. "What happened, mate?"

"She dumped me, Harry," Ron said miserably.

Harry gasped, sitting up. "What? Why didn't you tell me?" He wanted to laugh. Ron was totally buying his dumb act. Good thing he had taken theater in his muggle school.

Ron frowned. "I am telling you. Anyway, I guess I'm just still angry with her and the one she broke up with me for."

Harry glanced at Ron, slightly curious now. "She broke up with you for someone else? Who?" Maybe this time it was a real break-up.

Ron spoke, "It was.... Oh god, it makes me sick to even think about it. It was Pansy." (A/N: Hee hee, you all thought it was going to be Ginny! I decided to do something different. ;-)

"Parkinson?!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know," said Ron, his lip curling slightly in disgust. Harry fancied for a second that Ron looked a little like a blonde Slytherin he had kissed only a few minutes before....

Harry snapped out of it, and, frowning at Ron, said, "But...I don't understand. You two looked so cozy when I walked in on y'all earlier tonight."

Ron doubled up with laughter. "Y-Y'all?" he gasped in between fits of mirth.

Harry turned deep red. "Fred and George..." he muttered, his face turned down, "They went to Texas when they were in the United States. They came back and taught me cuss words and some Texan slang."

"They taught me too, but you don't see me going around saying 'Y'all'," Ron responded, rolling his eyes and holding his stomach, trying to avoid more hysterics.

Harry sighed. "So tell me. What happened?"

"Oh," said Ron, sobering quickly. "_That_. Well, what happened was, Hermione was trying to break up with me, but she didn't want anyone else to hear, to avoid embarrassing me. So when we heard someone coming in, we ducked down behind the couch, hoping they'd just go away. When we saw it was you, and you were looking all depressed, we thought we would cheer you up. Guess that was a bad idea," he muttered, looking down and avoiding Harry's eyes.

Harry blushed again. "Yeah...sorry about that, it's just.... I got really tired of you two bringing it up. I tried to tell you, but you didn't seem to listen. I was...basically, whenever I began to forget about it, you and Hermione saw fit to bring it up again, and I just could not get over Sirius's death. It got to the point where I just didn't want to see either you or Hermione. I'm sorry," he finished.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," Ron said. "I understood that you meant it when you said you wanted to be left alone, but I don't think Hermione really got it. You know, she's a girl, and all about 'talking about your feelings'. She just doesn't get that when guys have something bad happen, they need space, not women pressing in upon them and suffocate them. But I still should have said something, and told her to leave you alone. I guess I was kind of afraid of her," he said bashfully, and had the decency to look ashamed of himself.

Harry nodded. "No, its okay, I understand that Hermione can be a bit scary when she wants to be," he said, smirking. "Anyway, so she's gay?"

Ron frowned. "I don't know. I asked her, but she wouldn't give me a straight answer. I think she just might be bi."

_I need to tell him_, Harry thought. _He has a right to know my sexuality. He's my best friend! Maybe not_ _what I did tonight, and definitely not whom I did it with, but he should know the basic gist of it. Oh god, I hope he doesn't hate me._

"Um, Ron?" Harry said uncertainly.

"What is it, mate?" Ron asked innocently.

_I can't do this_. "Um, speaking of, uh, gay people, um, I, uh, think you should, um, know something," Harry said, inwardly wincing at all the uhs and ums in his sentence.

"Okay..." Ron said slowly. "What is it?"

"Ron, uh, I, um, I'm also...uh...gay."

**Draco's POV, first person**

I stomped away from the place where my father had Disapparated, feeling furious. I wasn't really furious with one thing in particular. I was just furious with everything. Furious with myself for saying yes to my father's ridiculous proposal. I was angry with Potter for making me like him, for making me kiss him. But most of all, I hated my father for forcing me into a situation where I would have to make that sort of decision. The one that had no good answer to it. And I'd chosen the worst one. _Yes_. 'Yes' my ass. I couldn't believe what I had done.

_Why am I so weak?_ I asked myself. _Why couldn't I have just been strong, stood up for what I believe to be right? Why was I a coward? Why can't I be stronger? But it's his fault, anyway._

_And how is it his fault?_ I asked myself. _Why am I blaming him for this? It's my own fault that I went and said yes. _

_You had to say yes,_ I argued with myself._ If you didn't he would have killed you. Besides, he basically tortured you your whole life. What are you supposed to do? How are you supposed to stand up to him?_

_He never cared about what I wanted. He should have cared. He never thought of me. It was all about him, and his happiness. Always,_ I thought bitterly. _Well, I can never have a relationship with Harry, like I want to. He'll never accept me as a death eater. And I can't become a Healer, or an Auror, like I wanted to. Wouldn't that be ironic?_ I thought with dry amusement. _A death eater's son an Auror. But no, I can't do anything I want to because of that bastard._

(Song)

_I'm giving up _

_On everything because you messed me up_

_Don't know how much you screwed it up_

_You never listen _

_That's just too bad_

_What the hell __am I going to do? I could just forget about it and never worry about him. I could tell Dumbledore and probably get his protection. I just don't know what to do. My best bet would be to move on, and forget about Harry._

_Because I'm moving on_

_I won't forget you were the one that was wrong_

_I know I need to step up and be strong _

_Don't patronize me_

_Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah_

_Have you forgotten_

_Everything that I wanted?_

_Do you forget it now?_

_You never got it_

_Do you get it now?_

_Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah_

_All I wan__t to do is escape. I want to run and keep running and never look back. I want to be able to date Harry and be a happy teenager. I don't want to have to worry about what some one's blood type is, or what their ancestry is, or anything like that. I probably would have liked all of the Gryffindors if I hadn't been raised to hate them. Why can't I just live my own life and not have to worry about all of this?_

_Gotta get away_

_There's no point in thinking about yesterday._

_It's too late now _

_It won't ever be the same_

_We're so different now_

_Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. _

_I know I wanna run away._

_I know I wanna run away. _

_Run away_

_If only I could run away_

_If only I could run away_

_Run away_

_I told you what I wanted_

_I told you what I wanted_

_What I wanted_

_But I was forgotten_

_I won't be forgotten_

_Never again_

_Have you forgotten_

_Everything that I wanted_

_Do you forget it now?_

_You've never got it_

_Do you get it now?_

_Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah_

But, the problem was, no matter what I'd like to think, I knew that I couldn't resist my father. He was too powerful, and very...persuasive. I then began to head up to the Gryffindor Tower, determination in my eyes. I had strong feelings for Harry, I knew that much. They might have been undeveloped, but I could tell that they were there, and I knew that it could become much stronger if we both let them. However, I knew what I had to do, even if it broke my heart.

**A/N:** It just seems like my chapters keep getting shorter and shorter, don't they? Though, actually, this one is a bit longer. Maybe it just seems shorter to me because I took my beautiful time writing it. Ack, I have precious little free time to do anything, with all the classes I'm taking. Oh well, hope y'all aren't angry with me. Yes, I do say y'all. Now to the teaser! Here it is:

**Teaser:**

Harry's head snapped up as he heard approaching footsteps. It was Draco.

"Harry!" Draco gasped, finally catching up to the brunette.

"What do _you_ want?" Harry asked him coldly, before standing up and beginning to walk away.

"I just wanted to talk to you," Draco said hastily, hurrying to catch up to Harry. And to say that I'm sorry," he said gently.

Harry stopped walking and turned to face Draco. _Should I forgive him?_ He wondered. He then opened his mouth to reply, and said....

**A/N:** I'm so evil. I love being evil. Well, the teaser wouldn't be a teaser if it wasn't evil, now, would it? Okay, onto review responses! I love you all! Mwah! Mwah!

**CindaSwan-**Yay, I'm glad you like it! Have cookies, or cupcakes, or anything!

**Princesspepper- **Of course I dedicated it to you! You're my most faithful reviewer! Anyway, yeah, I know that it's almost always Snape who catches them, but I couldn't resist. And I kind of wanted to make Lucius seem evil in every way except for his views on gay people. I just couldn't bring myself to write about him dissing them, since I hear people doing that every day in my school.

Don't worry, there will definitely be slash scenes coming up between Draco and Harry. And Hermione didn't break up with Ron for Seamus! She didn't even break up with him for a guy, as you can see. What kind of slash writer would I be if I did that?

Oh, and yeah, it did really piss me off when my boyfriend dissed one of my friends and called him gay, even though he wasn't.

I talk a lot too, so don't worry about it. I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update! I've just had a lot of stuff I needed to do. ï. Oh well, hope you like this chapter!

Have tons of sugary, baked goods!

**zoomaphonethepirate- **Hee hee, you also thought it was going to be Ginny. Lol. Don't worry, my story will have a happy ending, it just needs to get around to the happiness. Have cookies!

**harrypotter,move over-**Yes, you do have a great English accent. I'm glad you like my story, and as you can see, it is _not _Ginny.

**Emmilie Oli- **Yes, you are right! I've kept it up, hope you like. Have cupcakes!

**RandomnessDotCom- **Thanks for telling me, and yes it is Snape. Hope you like this chapter! Have cake!

**Nyoka Li- **I love evil teasers too! Don't worry, I will continue. I'm glad that you're adding me to your Author Alert list. Thanks! Have croissants!

**musicgirl141- **I'm glad you liked the Snape part and the makeup bit. Thanks for being my beta. Will you continue for the next and the rest of the chapters? Oh, and you're a great beta, and you do exactly what I need done on my stories. I give you lots of specially prepared goods to take home to family!

**Dark-Rain991-** Oooh, I'm glad you like it, but you won't find out what happens till next chapter. Hope that this one tides you over till then! Have éclairs!

**Drag-** Eeeeh, I'm glad that you like it! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! Here it is, I hope you like it! Have pie!

**Alora-** I'm glad you like it, and I included in my A/N that the teaser wouldn't be in that chapter. Sorry if you were confused. Hermione left Ron for PANSY! YES! YAY! That makes me happy! Harry and Draco forever. Oh, and I used the line you gave in your review about Harry and Draco in this chapter, I hope that you don't mind. Have French Bread!

**RosannaMalfoy-**I'm glad you liked that chapter; hope that this one was just as good. Don't you just hate it when boys are unaccepting? I know I do. And yes, Hermione left Ron for a girl. I'm glad you like that cookies! This time you get ice cream! Yes!

**shewolf- **Lol, you spelled genius wrong! Hee hee hee. But thanks for thinking that it is good. Oh, and I thought that you were supposed to be on a diet, mom? Lol.

**ava deisler- **Hmm... I wonder who it could be? Lol. I'm glad you like my story, but you must finish reading it! I got rid of Forbidden Love because _somebody_ told me it was bad. But if you really want to read it I'll print it out for you. And don't worry. There will be lots of details later in the fic. Have pudding!

**guns'n'handcuffs- **I'm glad you like my story. Oh and it's 'Azkaban'. Just so you know. Lol. ;-). Have strawberry shortcake!

**Mac Black- **Yeah, I know Snape is cliché, but I couldn't resist. Here's the update! Have fudge!

**A/N: **Wow, that's a lot of reviews! But they make me happy, so keep 'em coming! Oh, and for the millionth time to you all, DON'T WORRY! There will be slash, very detailed slash, and I will not abandon this story! Have a little faith in someone who promises not to leave. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'm exhausted. So please read and review. Adios!

-CatJetRat


	6. Losing Friends, Anger, and Making up

**A/N: **You know what I love about all my reviewers? None of them are flamers! This makes me extremely happy, that you all just have good things to say about my story. I love you all! And, yes, there will be **slash** in this chapter. Yes, finally! Not that much, but perhaps enough to tide you people over. No sex, perverts, but a little guy on guy action. Oh, and some of the things Ron says in this chapter, well, they're just examples of how unaccepting some people are, and how we can't allow ourselves to be silenced by their stupidity and prejudice. Sorry if you don't like fics that portray Ron as the bad guy, but he will be for a little while in this one. Not forever, though. Ginny will smack him back into shape eventually. Now, on with the fic! Adios!

-CatJetRat

**Chapter 6**

**Losing Friends, Anger, and Making Up**

**Harry's POV**

Harry stared at Ron uncertainly, feeling quite nervous. He had been unsure about whether or not to tell Ron about his discovery about himself, but had decided that since they had been best friends for five, almost six years, that it was best to tell him.

"Oh," Ron said, and his voice cracked ever so slightly with the faintest sign of unease. At that point, Harry knew he shouldn't have told Ron.

"Ron—" he began, but Ron cut him off while slowly standing up and backing away.

"No, Harry," Ron said rather forcefully. "I don't care what you want to do with your life, but if you make this choice, I can't be your friend anymore."

"What?" Harry exclaimed in dismay, also standing.

Ron's resolve, for a moment, seemed to crumble a little, and he looked rather sad. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said. "But my family is one of those old Christen families that follow the bible rather strictly, and I've always been taught to never associate with…your kind," he said, looking Harry up and down in a slightly disgusted way.

"_My kind?!_" Harry shouted angrily. "Is this some kind of joke? Because if it is, it's not a very funny one! Do you really think that I have a choice as to whether or not I'm gay? It's not something one chooses, it's something one is born as."

Ron shook his head angrily. "You're lying," he said flatly. "Of course it's something you choose. You can make a choice about whether or not you shag guys or girls."

Harry stared at his former best friend in disbelief, before Ron shook his head one more time and left. Harry sank back down onto the couch, covering his face with his hands and groaning. Could this day get any worse? As it turns out, it could.

**Draco's POV, first person**

I stood outside the Gryffindor common room, staring distastefully up at the painting covering the entrance. It showed an extraordinarily fat lady with a pink dress on. At least Slytherins didn't have a portrait of a morbidly obese woman in an atrocious dress covering the entrance to our common room. However, I made my expression sweet and simpering.

"Excuse me, _bonita_," I said, using some Spanish I had learned from my gardener.

The Fat Lady blushed, and said, "Yes?"

"I'm trying to find Harry Potter," I said, making my voice as innocent as possible. "Would you mind letting me in so I can speak with him? I'm sure he would be so happy to see me."

The Fat Lady looked reluctant. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that," she said, frowning. Her face brightened. "But I could tell him you're here and then have him let you in."

"That works," I said, pleased that I would be getting what I wanted. "Thank you."

She nodded pleasantly, and was gone in a flash. I sighed, and wondered why the hell I was doing this. What was wrong with me? I doubted very much that Harry cared at all whether or not I became a death eater. All we had done was kiss. It wasn't like we had made any commitments or anything. For all I knew, he still hated me; after all, we had been enemies for about five years. _But he let me kiss him when I wasn't intoxicated_, I argued with myself. _Maybe he really does like me._ But why should he? I had always been a complete jerk to him and his friends. _But we were civil to each other tonight, weren't we? And maybe, just maybe, we could be a little bit alike? We were both raised in abusive households, and…but that's just it. I don't know enough about him. And the funny thing is, I really want to. I don't know why, but I do._ I wasn't given much more time to dwell on the subject, since the Fat Lady then squeezed herself back into her portrait, and gave me a loving smile, right before the painting was pushed open. Harry smiled at me, and all my doubts and fears about him not liking me were destroyed. I felt my knees go slightly weak, and my brain turned to mush, all with that one smile.

"Come on in," he said, still grinning at me. I nodded and elegantly climbed in. Harry rolled his eyes at me. "Always have to be the pompous one, don't you, _Malfy_?"

"Of course I do, _Potty_," I shot back, smirking.

Harry rolled his eyes again. "Sit down," he said, pointing at the couch. I allowed my eyes to travel around the common room, and felt my nose wrinkle slightly with disgust as I stared at the flickering lamps, the over-hot fire, and the old, worn-out furniture that had stuffing leaking out at holes that looked like they had been made by mice.

"This room needs a serious makeover," I commented, still looking around.

Harry burst out laughing. "You are _so_ gay, Malfoy," he said, and his eyes were light with amusement.

I grinned at him coyly. "Don't forget, Potter, that there are two gay boys in this room, and one of them happens to know the Dark Arts."

Harry frowned at me. "You know Dark Magic?" he questioned. "But…I got the impression from you that you don't really like the Dark Arts."

I mirrored his frown, gazing into his emerald green eyes. "Wherever did you get that impression? All I told you was that my father hit me. I never said I wasn't into the Dark Arts. This brings me to why I came up here." I paused, and sat down on the sofa. Harry sat down beside me, and his leg brushed mine. I felt my heart flutter at this, but ignored the feeling. "Harry, my dad wants me to become a death eater."

"Oh?" Harry said, his face darkening slightly. "And what did you say?"

I hesitated, and then told him, "I said yes."

"WHAT?" Harry exclaimed, standing up.

I winced, before saying, "Keep your voice down, do you want your whole house to hear? Actually…." I took out my wand and cast a silencing charm around the common room, the same one, in fact, I had used on my party in the woods.

"Are you serious?" Harry said in a low voice. "You've decided to become a death eater?"

"Harry, I have to join my father, you understand that, don't you? If I don't he'll kill me, or you, or anyone I care about!" I protested, to a very angry, and increasingly so, Harry.

Perhaps to hide the hurt he was feeling because of my decision, Harry sneered at me. "You're just afraid of him."

"Damn right I am!" I snapped.

Harry shook his head at me. "You're a coward. If you really cared about anyone but yourself you would stay on Dumbledore's side. My side. You're just a stupid cowa-"**SLAP!**

Harry's head jerked backwards as my hand connected with his cheek. He sank to the ground, tears in his eyes, while I stood above him, feeling livid. How _dare_ he call me a coward when I was sacrificing myself to save his ruddy life! And then it dawned upon me what I had done. I had just hurt Harry, the one I cared about. The one I was trying to protect. What had I done?

"Harry…" I began gently, feeling horrible.

"No," Harry said flatly. "Go. Join the death eaters. I don't care anymore. You can go screw every one of them for all I care." He then stood up and stormed out of the room. I banished the silencing charm and ran after him, cursing myself for what I had done.

**Harry's POV**

Harry rushed out of the common room, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. How could Draco do something like that? _It's Malfoy_, Harry reminded himself. He reached the main doors and flung them open. Then, for some reason, he found himself running down to the lake. He sank down beside its inky black surface and lowered his head, starting to reflect upon the events of the night again, but then….

Harry's head snapped up as he heard approaching footsteps. It was Draco. Of course it was Draco.

"Harry!" Draco gasped, finally catching up to the brunet.

"What do _you_ want?" Harry asked him coldly, before standing up a beginning to walk away.

"I just wanted to talk to you," Draco said hastily, hurrying to catch up to Harry. "And to say that I'm sorry," he added gently.

Harry stopped walking and turned to face Draco. _Should I forgive him_? He wondered briefly. He then opened up his mouth to reply, and said, "Why did you do it, Draco?" His face, as well as his voice, betrayed no emotion, although his heart was aching with sadness. He wasn't sure why. He shouldn't really expect anything else from Malfoy; after all, they _had_ been enemies for over five years.

Malfoy lowered his head, looking, for the first time in his life, ashamed. "I…I guess I just lost my temper. I didn't even really realize what I was doing at the time. I'm really sorry. It will never happen again." Draco then gave Harry a winning smile. Harry rolled his eyes at this.

"Whatever," he said. He then frowned. "But really Draco, you can't become a death eater."

"And why not?" Draco asked haughtily.

Harry inwardly smiled at Draco's arrogance and immaturity. "Because, darling," he said, smirking. "I'm going to defeat that seventy year old and his crazy middle-age comrades eventually. It'll be easy. You forget, I've already beaten him twice."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps you're right. However, I'll need protection."

Harry's grin widened, and he conjured up a condom. "Here's your protection, doll," he said, holding out the condom.

Draco took it from him with narrowed eyes. "You're a real scream," he said sarcastically. He smirked and said, "Oh, and by the way…" before jumping on Harry and knocking him to the ground. "If you ever call me 'darling' or 'doll' again, I'll make sure that you are never able to use one of these again," Draco said, waving the condom in front of Harry's nose.

"Well, then you'll just have to use it, I guess," Harry shot back. He was now becoming slightly aroused by Draco's warm weight on him. Not that Draco was heavy. No, quite the opposite. But it still turned Harry on to have Draco pinning him to the ground, his legs on opposite sides of Harry's stomach. It didn't help matters when Draco leaned closer in, his hair spilling forward. He smirked again.

"I rather like you in this position, Potty," Draco said in a husky voice.

Harry nodded. He doubted very much that he could speak if he wanted to. His limbs seemed to be frozen, and all he could do was stare straight into Draco's silvery eyes. They were so much like his father's eyes, eyes that had been laughing, staring at him mercilessly as Voldemort tortured him. But Draco's eyes…they were different. Not very, but ever so slightly. Behind the mask that Draco had put up, Harry saw the mark of something terrible inside of Draco. A mark that only one person could have made. The people that Draco trusted the entire world with had hurt him, and the only people who could have had that kind of trust from Draco were his parents.

**Draco's POV, first person**

I do _not_ like that look he is giving me, no not at all. The last person who had given me that look had betrayed me, and I was not _about_ to let _anyone_ look at me like that again.

"Don't give me that look, Potter," I said in a warning voice. "Don't forget, I've still got the upper hand."

Harry, for what seemed to be the millionth time that night, smirked at me again. "Oh really?" he said, before he turned the tables on me by rolling us over. Now _he_ was the one on top, and I was beneath _him_. "What was that you were saying before?" he asked casually, examining his fingernails.

My eyes narrowed. "You've been doing a lot of smirking lately, I've noticed," I commented, mimicking his action and also examining my fingernails.

"Yeah, it's something I learned from you. Guess what? I also learned how to sneer like an arrogant bastard," he said, and gave a perfect imitation of my sneer. He stopped, and said, "I learned it from watching you strut around the school every day, looking down upon people."

"Oh?" I shot back. "And why were you watching me every day?"

Harry blushed, and said, "Well, you were rather fun to look at," he said nervously, twisting his hands.

"Was I?" I asked in a silky voice. "Well, you were rather amusing to watch. I think I knew you were gay long before you did."

This seemed to interest him greatly. "Really?" he said with raised eyebrows. "How?"

"Oh, it might have been the fact that you showed very little interest in girls, and asked few of them out, and when you did finally ask one of them out to the Yule Ball, you completely ignored her, and seemed to be a bit more interested in the dancers than actually dancing with her. Or, perhaps when you finally kissed a girl, you didn't seem to enjoy it very much, and—"

"WHAT? How do you know about that?! I only told Ron and Hermione, and they didn't tell anyone, did they?" Harry exclaimed, looking utterly perplexed.

"My dear Harry," I said in an amused tone. "Don't forget, you're Harry Potter. Did you really think that Chang wouldn't have told the whole school about kissing you?"

Harry's hands balled into fists. "That bitch," he hissed under his breath. "I should have known she was only going out with me because I'm famous."

"Fortunately, the whole school kind of took your side and thought that she was a bit of a slut, and kind of rude for telling everyone about kissing you. You can thank your Gryffindor pals Weasley and Granger for that. Once they got wind that Chang was telling everyone about it, they went and started calling her all sorts of things, and defending you."

I could tell that Harry was more than a little surprised by this news. "Really?" he said in disbelief.

"Yes, they were very adamant about making sure you retained your honor," I told him, enjoying watching the different emotions playing across his face. First came confusion, then denial, and finally, slight shame. He began to get off of me.

"Whoa, where are you going?" I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down on top of me.

"I have to go apologize to Hermione," he mumbled distantly.

"The mudblood? Why?" I asked, feeling irritated.

"Don't call her a mudblood, and it's because I insulted her greatly before I saw you this evening, and now I feel bad about it, because I know that she is really a very good friend," Harry said.

"Ah, hell no," I said.

He frowned at me. "What?"

"You are not going anywhere," I told him firmly.

"And why not?" he asked, looking bewildered.

"Because it's getting fairly cold out here, and you are rather warm. I do not want my warm comforter to go away," I said.

Harry snorted. "You really are a spoiled brat, aren't you Malfoy? But here, perhaps this will shut you up," he said, and leaned down and kissed me. Just like that! Right out of the blue.

It was incredible. His lips were soft and warm on mine, and he ran one of his hands through my blond hair. He opened his mouth slightly, his tongue requesting entrance. I eagerly allowed it in, and we went into a full-on French kiss. He didn't put his whole tongue in my mouth, like most guys seemed to think was a good idea. No, he was a bit more subtle than that. His tongue gently explored my mouth, mingling with my tongue. One of his hands slipped up my shirt, and I felt him run his hands over the muscles on my chest. He pulled his other hand out of my hair, and gently stroked my cheek. He then pulled away. I let out a whimper of protest, and tried to engage him in another kiss, but he was having none of it.

"No, Draco, he said in a gentle but firm voice.

"Fine," I said huffily, crossing my arms and looking away from him.

Harry laughed. "Don't be like that," he said, uncrossing my arms and pulling me towards him. "If you're good, there'll be more kissing later," he said, wrapping his arms around me.

I returned the hug. "Fine," I repeated in a slightly grumpy, but less annoyed tone. "Go apologize to her, if you must, but then I want you in my bed, in my private chambers, tonight."

"Dream on," Harry said rolling his eyes. His brow furrowed. "You have private chambers?"

"Yeah," I said. "My dad paid Dumbledore a bundle to have private chambers installed for me."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "_Dumbledore_ was _bribed_?" he said in disbelief.

"I suppose you could call it that," I said, shrugging. "Why are you so surprised? Dumbledore is human, just like everybody else. And he saw no harm in accepting money to install private chambers for me."

Harry sighed. "I guess I kind of thought that Dumbledore would never treat any of the students differently, no matter how much more money one student had than another student."

"Oh, but its okay when he gives you special treatment when it comes to punishment," I said in a slightly angry voice.

Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean," I said, pulling away from him. "The flying car, the Whomping Willow, Sirius Black, don't think that the rest of us haven't noticed."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry," he said, looking guilty. "I never really thought about it that way."

"It's okay, you foolish boy," I said shaking my head.

"I have to go now," he said, and kissed me quickly on the lips before standing up. "Bye Draco, see you later."

"Bye," I said, and watched him head up to the castle. I shivered slightly, and wrapped my coat around my body. I had been right. He really _had_ kept me warm.

**A/N: **That seemed like a good ending. Hey, look, guys, I'm sorry about the delay. Some stuff has been going on, and I haven't had much time to update. But here's your teaser. I hope you like it.

**Teaser:**

"Are you serious, Harry?" Ginny said in a low voice. "Ron told you that we're Christian?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, and he told me that your family followed the bible rather strictly."

"That bastard," she hissed, and, standing up, she whirled around to face where Ron was sitting with Seamus and Dean.

"RONALD WEASLEY!"

**A/N:** Hee hee hee. I wonder what Ginny will do to Ron. Give me some good examples of long and painful torture. Now, onto reviewer responses! I love you all! Mwah! Mwah!

**L Moonshade-** Ooh, you're back! I'm glad you liked the last chapter; I did too, but I thought it wasn't as good as the fourth one. I hope you like this one too, as well as the evil teaser. Have cookies!

**musicgirl141- **I hope you like this chapter. Sorry, but I just had to update. You still get cookies, though!

**zoomaphonethepirate- **Here's happiness for you, hope you like! Have cookies!

**lonelost- **Um…yeah, the reason I put that in there is because I've also lived in Texas my whole life, and I say y'all. I wasn't stereotyping or anything. Sorry if I offended you, but I was just trying to bring a bit of my culture out into the fanfic world. I hope you liked this chapter, anyway. Here, you get cookies!

**spamy- **Thanks for calling my story original. I didn't think it was when I first started it, but thanks for saying you think it is, anyway. Sorry it took me so long to update. Have cookies!

**Alora-** I'm glad you didn't mind. I considered e-mailing you but decided against it since I wanted to post the chapter quickly. I'm sorry it took me so long to get this one up; I'll try and post chapters sooner from now on. I'm so happy that the Prisoner of Azkaban came out on DVD, though when I watched it, all I could do was complain about how different the movie was from the book, how bad the casting was, ect. Hope you like this chapter! You get lots of cookies!

**Shewolf Mama-** No, it wasn't sly slash sassiness. And no, you don't get any sweets. Hope you like this chapter, though!

**Kaikiki-** I've kept em coming, but as of now I don't need a beta. Hope you like this chapter! Have cookies!

**RosannaMalfoy-** I'm glad you liked my last chapter, though I didn't very much. I hope you like this chapter even more! I'm glad I shocked you with the whole Pansy thing; I try to keep it original. Thanks for the candy bars! Here, you get more cookies!

**Kaikiki-** Ooh, I just love keeping people on the edge of their seats; it's one of my favorite things to do. I'm glad you liked my song choice, too. I'm considering making the next one a songfic, but I'm not quite sure yet. I'm glad that someone appreciates how I'm trying to make Draco stay true to his character. Have more cookies!

**A/N:** Well, that wasn't as many reviews as last time, but still, it was a lot of reviews. But I love them all, so please review more! I hope that you all like this chapter, and I will have the next one up as soon as possible. The problem is, finals are coming up, so I'll need to do a lot more studying than writing. But don't worry. As soon as Christmas break comes around, I'll be able to update much more frequently, probably. Unless of course I get writer's block, which would suck. Oh well. Read and review! Adios!

-CatJetRat


	7. A Weasley Sister's Wrath

**A/N:** By the time this chapter gets out, I probably won't have updated for about a month. Yeah, sorry about that. I'm sure I'll have a perfectly good reason. Anyway, since I'm feeling kind of depressed and tired and I don't really want to talk, onto the chapter! Hope you enjoy. ;-).

-CatJetRat

**Chapter 7**

**A Weasley Sister's Wrath**

**Harry's POV**

Harry woke up to the sharp beams of early morning sunlight piercing his eyelids. He groaned and rolled over in his bed, wishing that he had closed the bed hangings before he had gone to sleep. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, only to be greeted by the worst headache he had ever felt in his life.

"Oh, gods," he moaned. "Why the bloody hell did I let Draco talk me into drinking?"

"What, mate?" asked Seamus Finnigan, pulling a shirt over his head and walking over to Harry.

"Oh, nothing," Harry said hastily, putting his glasses on.

Seamus shook his head. "How many times, Harry?" he asked, rolling his eyes and looking irritated.

"What?" Harry asked innocently.

"Don't _wear_ those," Seamus said impatiently.

"Why not?"

"Because," Seamus said, removing Harry's glasses. "It obscures those beautiful green eyes you have, and when you don't wear them, more girls drool over you, which is rather amusing for me to watch. Besides, didn't I teach you that vision-correcting spell?" "Yeah," said Harry grudgingly. "But it feels so permanent, and I feel weird without my glasses."

"That's because it _is_ permanent, and as for feeling weird, well, you'll just have to get used to it. Here, if you don't want to do it yourself, I will," Seamus snapped, and, pointing his wand at Harry's eyes, said softly, "_Visión Reparo_."

"Thanks," Harry muttered, and removed his glasses. Seeing properly without his glasses was probably one of the weirdest experiences Harry had had since he had joined the wizarding world. "So…" he said, shaking his head to try and clear it. "Why is it so amusing to watch girls drool over me?"

"Because you're gay," Seamus said lightly.

Harry's head shot up. "What?!" he exclaimed. "How do you know? Did Ron…?"

Seamus laughed. "Chill. I only know because I'm gay too, and I could tell, 'cause I have gaydar."

"Oh," Harry said, relaxing. "You haven't told anyone, have you?" he asked, slightly worried.

"No, of course not," Seamus said, holding up his hands in surrender. He frowned. "I don't even really get why Ron would know."

Harry sighed. "Well, I just realized that I'm gay last night," Harry sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "And the first person I decided to tell was Ron."

"Guess it didn't go over very well, huh?" Seamus said softly.

Harry shook his head. "No, it didn't. Ron told me that his family was one of those old-fashioned Christian families that follow the bible very strictly."

"What?" said a voice. Harry and Seamus looked up. It was Dean and Neville, though Neville was the one who had spoken.

"Hey guys," said Harry lightly.

"So you're gay?" Dean asked, smirking.

Harry nodded rather nervously.

"I knew it!" Dean said, punching the air with his fist. "I mean, it was kind of obvious," he added apologetically.

"How?" Harry asked curiously. It seemed that everyone knew he was gay except for him.

"Well, you just never drooled over girls very much like the rest of us were, not including Seamus, of course. But then again, everyone knew he was gay."

"Did they?" Harry asked, bemused.

"Yeah! Blimey, Harry, where you been?"

Harry shook his head. "I dunno," he muttered. He looked back up at the three boys who were so much more accepting of his sexuality than Ron. "How else was it obvious?" he asked.

"Well," Neville took over this time. "There was also the fact that when you got your first kiss, you didn't enjoy it very much."

Harry moaned and looked up at the ceiling. "How is it that _everyone_ knows about that?" he asked miserably.

Neville shrugged. "Chang told everyone; I didn't know it was some secret."

"Yes, but one would expect her to have a little _decency_, right?" Harry looked at the other three boys imploringly, but they all had blank looks on their faces, and Seamus even said, "What's decency?"

Harry sighed. "Never mind," he muttered.

"Anyway," Seamus continued. "Do you want to know what made it really obvious to us that you're gay?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, it had a little something to do with the fact that you and Draco Malfoy were always flirting with each other," Seamus said, that evil little smirk on his face just growing bigger and bigger with each passing second.

"WHAT?!" Harry exclaimed, almost falling off the bed. "I never—are you crazy? We were never, what do mean, _flirting_?!"

The three boys fell all over themselves laughing. "Well, it was just so sweet," Seamus choked out. "'Come on, Harry,'" he mimicked. "'Do you want the Remembrall? Well then come up here and get it.'"

Neville was next. "'Oooh, Harry,'" he squealed. "'I'm so scared. It's the forbidden forest, and there are creepy crawl things. Oooh, protect me, Harry!'"

And then came Dean. "'Come on, Potter,'" he mimicked. "'You'll _never_ defeat me at Quidditch, so why don't you just chase me around the Quidditch pitch on a broomstick and try to catch me?'"

Harry had gone pure white. A little growling noise escaped his throat as he watched the three boys, on the ground, laughing their heads off. "Seamus, Dean, Neville," he hissed. "If you value your pathetic lives you will run, now."

The boys looked up, and seeing the glint in Harry's eyes, well, they didn't stay sitting there much longer. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" They screamed, and tried to run out of the room, tripping all over themselves in the process, seeing as how they had all gotten a bit tangled. Harry grabbed his wand off of his bedside table and ran after them, shouting curses and swear words. When they reached the common room, however, all four boys stopped dead at the evil look from one Hermione Granger.

Harry blushed, and, muttering a goodbye to the others, went to give Hermione a much-needed apology. "Hermione," he muttered.

"Hello, Harry," she said, rather coolly.

"Look, Hermione, I'm sorry," Harry said.

"Okay, I'm listening," she said, now actually looking at him,

"I just got frustrated, and I should have talked with you about it when I didn't like being constantly reminded of Sirius' death."

"Yes, you should have," she said.

"And now I feel bad about it, because Draco told me about how you and Ron stood up for me when Chang started telling everyone about us."

Hermione looked at him strangely. "Draco, as in Draco Malfoy?"

Harry, realizing his slip, blushed, and then nodded.

"Alright, Harry, what's going on?" she asked him, sighing and putting down her book.

"Can you keep a secret?" Harry asked her. She nodded. Then Ginny made an appearance. "Oooh," she said excitably. "I can keep a secret. Tell me. Please? I love secrets."

Harry stared at her uncertainly. While he trusted her, from what Ron had told him last night, if he revealed this secret to Ginny, she'd never talk to him again. "Only if you promise that you won't tell anyone and you'll still speak to me after I tell you."

She nodded quickly. "But what—" And then her eyes got really big. "Did you _kill_ someone, Harry?" she gasped. "That's it, isn't it," she said. "You killed someone!" Harry could tell that she was really wishing that he had killed someone. And in this display of cute childishness and immaturity that was only allowed to pass because Harry knew how intelligent she really was, Harry could sense something. This sweet girl would never reject him because of his sexuality. He wasn't sure how he knew this, he just knew it. However, the only problem was, Ginny's voice was rather loud and was beginning to attract attention. Harry quickly put a hand over her mouth and hissed, "Bloody hell, Ginny, shut up. I did _not_ kill anyone, despite how much you might wish for that to be what happened."

"Well, what did happen, then?" She asked simply. At this, Harry began to recite the events of the previous night, starting with what had happened in the common room.

"And then Ron said that your family was Christian and that that was why he couldn't be friends with me. Basically that homosexuality was a sin."

"Are you serious, Harry?" Ginny said in a low voice. "Ron told you we're Christian?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, and he told me that your family followed the bible rather strictly."

"That bastard," she hissed, and, standing up, she whirled around to face where Ron was sitting with Seamus and Dean.

"RONALD WEASLEY!"

Ron jumped about a foot in the air as the whole common room went silent. Ginny was facing him, murder in her eyes and her wand rose to where it was pointing right between Ron's eyes. "You foul, cowardly little weasel!" she shrieked

Ron fell over the couch in his haste to get away from his sister. "What did I do?" he asked weakly.

"So _clearly_ it's not enough that you have to be a scared little homophobe and insult our family by being a part of it, but you also have to insult _everyone_ in the family by calling us _Christian_," she said, spitting the last word like it was poison.

"Oh," Ron said, his voice getting, if possible, even weaker.

"You nasty little liar," Ginny hissed. "I ought to wring you up from your spineless neck. If you're going to be a homophobe, at least have the courage to _admit_ to it."

"But I—" Ron began, before Ginny cut him off.

"Don't even speak!" Ginny snapped. "Everything that comes out of your mouth is now to be considered lies, you ass. I can't even believe you would abandon Harry like that. Get up!" she spat, and Ron scrambled to his feet. "You're coming with me."

Ron began whimpering, before Ginny kicked him in the shins. "Stop whining! Now go!" Ginny said, and she marched Ron out of the room.

Harry felt greatly curious as to what Ginny was going to do to Ron, and he began to follow her, but Hermione grabbed his arm and held him back. "Where do you think you're going? I need still need to finish my conversation with you."

Harry glanced back at her, frowning. "What more is there to say?" he asked.

"You'd be surprised," Hermione said grimly.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, sitting back down.

"What's _wrong_ Harry, is that you're associating yourself with Draco Malfoy," Hermione said anxiously, looking deeply into Harry's eyes.

"What's so wrong with Draco?" Harry asked defensively.

"Harry, where have you been the past six years?" Hermione exclaimed. "Draco Malfoy is the one who made our lives miserable since we stepped foot on that Hogwarts train. Are you really so dense that you'd trust him? Harry, he's going to become a Death Eater! What makes you so sure that he won't hand you over to Voldemort?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno," he muttered.

"I just want you to be careful," Hermione said sweetly, trying to comfort him.

Harry nodded. "I will be," he said.

**Draco's POV, first person**

"Are you crazy?!" Pansy shouted.

I winced at her angry tone. "What's so wrong with Harry?" I asked defensively. I had just told Pansy and Blaise, my two best friends, what had happened between Harry and me. They weren't taking it too well.

"Draco, where have you been the past six years?" Pansy exclaimed. "Harry Potter is the one who's made our lives miserable since we came to Hogwarts. Are you really so think that you'd trust him? Draco, he's going to become an Auror! What makes you so sure that he won't hand you over to Dumbledore?"

Draco shrugged. "I'm not sure," he murmured.

"Dray, I just want you to be careful," Pansy said in an unusually kind voice, trying to be understanding.

Draco nodded. "Yeah, I know. You don't need to worry. I will be."

Blaise frowned. "I still don't understand why it had to be _Potter_," he said grumpily. "I don't care that you're gay, I just don't really like the fact that you're seeing Potter. Why does it have to be him?"

"Cause I like him," Draco said stubbornly.

"And besides, everyone agrees that since he ditched his glasses, he's the hottest guy in school besides Draco," Pansy added, winking at Malfoy.

Draco blushed, and muttered, "Pansy, shut it."

"Why? You know it's true. Maybe I could hold a beauty contest!" she said, beginning to get excited.

"Down, Pansy," Blaise said in a bored voice.

"Actually, I'm more interested in what's going on between you and Granger," Draco said.

Pansy choked on a chocolate she had just popped in her mouth. "What?" she squeaked out, swallowing.

"Yeah," Draco said lightly, examining his fingernails. "According to Millicent, you and Granger have been seen getting _very_ cozy in your bed."

Pansy went from red to white faster than the eye could see. "That bitch," she hissed. "I _told_ Bulstrode not to say anything. She is _so_ dead."

"I actually kind of tortured it out of her," Draco corrected Pansy.

"Oh," Pansy said, looking slightly disappointed that she couldn't torture Millicent.

"So," Draco prompted. "What's going on?"

Pansy then got a silly, ecstatic expression on her face. "Well, she's kind of my girlfriend," she said, sounding dreamy.

Draco snorted. "And you were getting angry with _me_. I thought Granger was supposed to be intelligent. It amazes me that she doesn't remember all those times that you were mean and cruel to her."

Pansy shrugged. "I apologized," she said simply.

"Ah," Draco said, smirking slightly. "The ever-powerful 'I'm sorry'. So she forgave you, and you two started snogging?"

"No, of course not!" Pansy said, looking scandalized. "It happened right after she and the weasel had a fight. Last night, actually. She was lying by the lake, sobbing her heart out."

"What time was this?" Draco asked curiously.

"Around seven," Pansy said dismissively. "Anyway, I asked her what was wrong, and she told me to go away, but I didn't, and said that the weasel was being a jerk to her, and that she was going to break up with him. I comforted her, and one thing led to another and, well…" she said, getting that silly look on her face again. "She broke up with Weasley that night, and then she came to my dorm room, crying again, saying something about Potter yelling at her. I comforted her again, and we snogged rather thoroughly. It was wonderful," she finished dreamily.

Draco snorted. "I'm sure," he said dryly.

**Harry's POV**

"It was wonderful," Hermione finished dreamily.

Harry snorted. "I'm sure," he said dryly.

The common room door opened, and in came Ginny with a smug look on her face, followed by an extremely disheveled, and freaked out looking Ron. Ron spotted Harry, and made a beeline straight for him.

"Harry," he said. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry and I don't have a problem with your sexual preference." With that Ron headed over to the fire and sat _really_ close to it, shivering.

Ginny sat down next to Harry, an extremely pleased look on her face. "What did you do to him?" Harry asked warily.

"I locked him in a dark room with a bunch of spiders," Ginny said, beaming.

Harry burst out laughing, and Hermione looked like she was torn between disapproval and amusement. She chose disapproval. "Ginny," she said sternly.

"What?" Ginny asked innocently.

"You shouldn't have done that; Ron could have been seriously hurt; those spiders could have been poisonous," Hermione said.

Ginny shook her head. "Don't worry, Hermione. The most those spiders could have done was crawl all over Ron and freak him out completely. Which they did," she added, smirking.

At this, Hermione allowed herself a smile and a shake of her head.

**A/N:** What do ya'll think? I like certain parts of it, others not so much. I know it isn't as long as the last chapter, but I wanted to get it up. Sorry about the delay. I've been suffering a bad case of writer's laziness. Lol. But really, sorry about the delay. Here's the teaser:

**Teaser:**

"Harry, you understand that what you're asking of me is impossible," Dumbledore said, sadly watching the boy pace back and forth in front of him

"Why?" Harry burst out. "Draco's not like his father! He doesn't want to be a death-eater, and his father's going to make him become one. You can't just stand by and watch that happen."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Dumbledore asked patiently.

"Take him in," Harry urged, sinking into the chair in front of Dumbledore. "Keep him here at Hogwarts, keep him at Sirius' place, I don't care, just keep him away from his father so that he can work for the light."

"I don't see why," Dumbledore said. "If his father wants him to become a death eater, like you say, then why not just have Draco become a spy?"

**A/N:** Hmm…what will Harry think of this idea? More importantly, what will _Draco_ think of this idea? Anyway, onto reviewer responses! I love you all! This time ya'll get pie!

**L Moonshade- **I hope you like what Ginny does, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You get chocolate meringue pie!

**pinkmoonbunny2002- **Glad you like it! You get lemon meringue pie!

**notDavidtalbot :P- **Be patient, more slash will come later. You get cherry pie!

**zoomaphonethepirate- **I'm glad you like the happiness. I don't really like Ron, which is why I made him a bad guy. I love Ginny. But Ron's better now. You get apple pie!

**Lirimaer Cordelia- **I liked that idea, but I was worried it would be too messy for Ginny. you get pecan pie!

**DragonSpirit7037- **Yeah, I just wasn't really sure how to make them all hesitant, and I wanted them to be friends. I'm glad that you like my story though. I hate Ron too! And don't worry; more romance will come later. You get blueberry pie!

**RosannaMalfoy- **I'm glad you liked it, and I'm glad you could see them. Maybe I will make Ginny gay; I'm not sure yet. Thanks for the ice cream! I love ice cream! Since you can't have things with milk in them, you get gooseberry pie!

**leosqueen- **I'm glad you like it, here's another chapter! You get cherry chocolate pie!

**twistedgoddess88- **Thanks for saying my story rocks! I hope you like this chapter! Here, you get vanilla raisin pie!

**Princesspepper- **I knew you'd like the kissing! : P. Harry and Draco can keep warm with me any day…lol. I hate Ron so much; that's why I made him a bad guy in this fic. I liked your idea, I just didn't want to write that much…lol, I'm lazy. And don't worry; Harry and Draco will be together forever, of course. I hope you like this chapter. You get shoofly pie!

**lovely sorrow -** I have written another chapter; I hope you like it. You get peanut-butter chiffon pie!

**D EDMUN- **I'm glad you like it. Here's another chapter. You get Chass Pie!

**A/N:** WAH! I'm getting fewer reviews! Review! Please! It makes me so very happy! Hmm…I wonder if colors will show up on fanfic. Here, let me try. Well, they show up on my screen, I'm just not sure if they will download. I hope they do, though. Well, you'll know if they do. Anyway, R&R, please, especially the review part! Adios!

-CatJetRat


	8. Planning and Love

**A/N: **Hey, sorry about the wait. I didn't _use_ to be someone who wouldn't update for a month, but lots of things have been going on. A three week vacation thoroughly relaxed me, I think. I feel better, especially since I got a lot of loot. Because everyone begged for it, yes, there will be slash in this chapter. Lots of it. Trust me. Not much more to say here. I think that this story will be ending pretty soon. Only a few more chapters left, I think. Hope you enjoy. Bye.

-CatJetRat

**Chapter 8**

**Planning and Love  
**

**Draco's POV, first person**

I wandered around the corridors, looking for Harry, and scowling at anyone who dared to look my way. I wasn't sure why I was in such a bad mood. Whether it was because of Pansy's constant nagging about Harry, or because I had been wandering around for about a half hour trying to find him after Granger telling me he wasn't in the common room. Trying to be polite, I mentioned that I liked their common room, but it could use a makeover. I instantly regretted that comment, since Granger then launched into a long tirade about house-elves and how they were doing their best, and they shouldn't be enslaved in the first place. I really wanted to just hex her and leave, but knew if I did Harry would be majorly pissed off, and there would be no snogging for a week at least. So I was forced to stand there for about ten minutes, until I finally interrupted her and told her I needed to find Harry. She let me go, only because Weasley chose that moment to turn up, and she was busy yelling at him about something. I heard her mention Harry and I wanted to stay behind and yell at Weasley too, but it looked like Granger was doing fine on her own.

I left, satisfied with the knowledge that by the time Granger was finished with him he would actually _look_ like the scared little weasel he was.

But that still left me confused and concerned about Harry. Where was he? He wasn't in his common room; he wasn't in the Great Hall. That left few choices. I then thought that he might be talking to Dumbledore about keeping me protected. I decided that going to Dumbledore's office was my best bet, so I headed down there. It had already been a whole day since I had seen him, and it was thoroughly irritating me.

**Harry's POV**

Harry left the common room early that morning. The tension between Ron and Hermione was beginning to reach its peak, and Harry did _not_ want to be there when they both finally cracked. Although Ginny had punished Rom sufficiently with the spiders, Hermione was still angry with him about it, and hadn't gotten a chance to vent. Ron was furious that Hermione had dumped him for a _girl_, and, as Harry left, heard Ron make some scathing remark about gay people to Dean, who was listening to Ron talk with an expression on Dean's face that was getting more irritated by the second. He then saw, rather than heard, Ron whisper something to Dean, then glance over in Harry's direction and laugh. Dean's hands were clenched, and he very carefully unclenched them and walked away. Ron looked a bit disappointed, and he then seemed to realize something. Glancing around the room, it was very obvious to Harry, and Ron too, that people were angry with him. Most seemed to be avoiding him, and few would talk to him. Harry, although feeling rather angry with Ron, had to pity him. Ron had thought that everyone would hate Harry, and sneer at him, so Ron, like the little weasel he was, scurried over to what he thought to be the safer side.

Harry then realized something, and it stabbed him in the heart. It had been the same way with their friendship. Ron became friends with him because Ron thought Harry was his best bet against avoiding sneers, and teasing. Ron had stopped being friends with him in fourth year because he knew everyone would be angry about the Triwizard tournament. He became friends with Harry again when he performed well in the First Task, when it looked as though people might like him again. And again, now. The second it looked like Harry might be target for jeers and insults, Ron had fled. And now that it was obvious people would stand by Harry, be would probably come crawling back. _There's a word for people like that_, Harry thought coldly. _Cowards. Stinking, filthy little weasel cowards._

This, of course, did not mean Harry now despised Ron's family. No. They had always been kind to him, and Ginny even beat up her brother for him. It was just Ron he disliked and looked down upon.

Harry wandered around the hallways, not really wanting to go to breakfast, yet not wanting to roam forever. It was then he remembered something Draco had said the night before last. _"Perhaps you're right. However, I'll need protection."_ And Harry knew just who to go to for protection from the second-most powerful wizard alive. Who? Well, the _most_ powerful wizard alive. Harry headed down to Dumbledore's office, glad he had strayed that way. It seemed like his feet knew where to go sooner then his brain did.

Harry paused in front of Dumbledore's office, unsure of what to do. He didn't know the password anymore, but before he could start guessing, the gargoyle sprang to life and leapt aside. Harry frowned at it, and tentatively walked inside. He got on the moving spiral staircase, and while he was going up he tried to figure out what to say to Dumbledore. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far, since the ride was so short. Before he could even gather his thoughts, he found himself in front of Dumbledore's office. He walked inside, and there was Dumbledore, sitting at his desk and frowning. He looked up, saw Harry, and a smile came to his old face.

"What a nice surprise, Harry," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Come in, come in."

"Okay," Harry said, still slightly nervous. He thought he should probably mention the strange behavior of the gargoyle. "Sir, when I got to the gargoyle, before I could start guessing what the password was, the gargoyle sprang to life and leapt aside. Is it broken, or…?"

"Oh," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "I charmed it so that whenever you come to the door, it will automatically open, in case something important happened."

Harry nodded. "Okay, that sounds fine. Anyway, the reason I came up, is because…" Harry began to recite a revised version of the events of the previous night. He made no mention of the party, merely made it seem like he and Draco had met beside the lake, and had got to talking. He did, however, tell Dumbledore of their new relationship. When he finished, Dumbledore just sat there, frowning. Harry had gotten up sometime during their conversation, and was now pacing back and forth. Harry could tell that Dumbledore wasn't taking this new news too well.

"Harry…." he began gently.

"What?" Harry exclaimed nervously.

"Harry," Dumbledore repeated. "You understand that what you're asking of me is impossible," Dumbledore said, sadly watching the boy pace back and forth in front of him.

"Why?" Harry burst out. "Draco's not like his father! He doesn't want to be a death-eater, and his father's going to make him become one. You can't just stand by and watch that happen!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Dumbledore asked patiently.

"Take him in," Harry urged, sinking into the chair in front of Dumbledore. "Keep him here at Hogwarts, keep him at Sirius' place, I don't care, just keep him away from his father so that he can work for the light."

"I don't see why," Dumbledore said. "If his father wants him to become a death eater, like you say, then why not just have Draco become a spy?"

Harry stared at Dumbledore incredulously. For a second, his voice was gone, and then he yelled at Dumbledore. "ARE YOU INSANE?!" he shouted. "Draco's only 16! He shouldn't have to put his life on the line already! I can't believe that you're even suggesting this! What is wrong with you? You've already got Snape as a spy, why should Draco be one too?"

"Yes, _Professor_ Snape _is_ a spy, but what if he dies? We need someone in Voldemort's inner circle," Dumbledore said patiently.

"What if Snape _dies_?! And what if _Draco_ dies?" Harry yelled.

"It will all be for the greater good," Dumbledore said, and at that point Harry saw something within Dumbledore he had never seen before. Determination. Dumbledore was going to do whatever it took to win this war, even spill innocent blood over it. He didn't care who got hurt in the process. And Harry knew in that moment that he couldn't let that happen. Dumbledore was willing to go all the way to get his war won. Harry wasn't. He wouldn't let Dumbledore put the people Harry cared about in harm's way again, for he had already put Harry's parents in Voldemort's way, and now they were dead. Harry refused to let Dumbledore hurt Draco, or Hermione, or Ginny, or even Ron, merely to win a war. Harry's first instinct would have been to just leave the country and take all the people he cared about with him. But Harry knew that even if he did that, it wouldn't stop Dumbledore, and would probably just make him more desperate, and willing to hurt others. Harry didn't care who it was; he wasn't going to let Dumbledore do that. It was then that he knew what he needed to do to stop two powerful monsters. He had never had any real motivation before, besides not dying, or when the people he loved were in danger. At that point he realized that the people he loved were once again in danger, but not from Voldemort. It was from the man they had all considered their leader. Harry was done with this man. He stood up.

"No," Harry said flatly, and left. As he was leaving, he heard Dumbledore heave a sigh behind him.

Harry knew that what he was going to do would probably get him killed, but he just refused to let Dumbledore hurt the people he loved. Harry would leave tomorrow. Right now he needed to say farewell to all of his friends, and most especially, his boyfriend, the boy who he had managed to fall in love with in less than three days. Harry decided to say goodbye to Draco first. He walked briskly down the corridor, searching for the blond, but before he could get very far, a hand shot out of a doorway and yanked him in.

**Draco's POV, first person**

Before I could even make it to Dumbledore's office, I saw Harry turn the corridor and head towards me. It was obvious the he was too distracted to notice me, so, feeling sly, I hid in an empty classroom, and, as he was walking past me, I reached out, grabbed a handful of his robes, and yanked him into the empty classroom.

Harry gasped. "Draco? What are you doing?"

I smirked. "Isn't it obvious? I'm kidnapping you. So how'd it go with Dumbledore?"

Harry paused for a second, and then said, "Fine, it went fine."

I could sense he wasn't telling the truth, but at that moment all I cared about was how he was pressing me into the desk, and how beautiful he was looking then. Whatever. I could torture the info out of him later. "Okay," I said.

With that, I looked up into his eyes and ran my fingers through his messy but extremely soft hair. He stroked the side of my face, then leaned down and kissed me. It was just as good, if not better than the one the night before last. Soft at first, the kiss soon became more intense as he wrapped his arms around my waist, and slipped his tongue in my mouth. He explored my mouth for a bit, battling with my tongue, which wanted to be the dominant one. My tongue eventually won, and I explored his mouth for a little bit, battling with him too. His hands began to travel below my waist, and I gasped into his mouth when he held me. It was the most exquisite feeling in the world. He then slipped a hand into my robes, and began to stroke me. We had stopped kissing now, and all I felt was pure pleasure. I pushed into his hand, and his movements became swifter, rougher, and as his finger ran over the head of my cock, I gasped. He began sucking on my neck, and I moaned. My neck was an extremely sensitive place, and add that to the fact that he was rubbing me and sucking my neck like there was no tomorrow, well, I was an extremely happy boy. I closed my eyes, and tried to take in every single sensation. It was so wonderful, that it was almost too much. Then he stopped sucking my neck, and whispered in my ear, heightening my pleasure. "Why don't we take this to my room?"

I moaned my approval, but then held out a hand to stop him. "Not…your room…" I gasped. "My…personal room….More private. Not public…." He nodded, agreeing with me, and we quickly left the classroom and walked to my room. Fortunately, it wasn't very far. I mainly stayed turned on because sometime during our walk Harry, obviously bored, took my hand and began sucking on my fingers, which gave me a little tingling sensation. Fortunately we reached my room quickly. I spoke the password, and we went inside. I hurriedly shut the door, and launched myself at Harry, kissing him passionately.

"Whoa, eager, are we?" Harry asked, smirking against my lips.

I growled a response, and shoved him onto the bed. I jumped on top of him, and ravished him. Harry's movements in the hallway had made me extremely horny and turned on, and now I wanted to fix it. I pushed his robes off, and began sucking and licking his chest. I yanked his robes off the rest of the way, and threw them across the room carelessly. I heard the tinkling of breaking glass, but I didn't really care. I pulled Harry's jeans off next, and then his boxers. Soon he was naked in front of me. "Hey, no fair!" Harry exclaimed. "How come your clothes are still on?"

"Because I am going to be on top," I said firmly.

"Aw, hell n—" Harry began, but before he could finish his sentence, I took his bulging cock into my mouth. He gasped, and his hips bucked up. I nearly gagged, but I managed not to. I sucked him, and stroked him with my tongue. As I was doing this, Harry was somehow managing to remove my clothing. Soon I was also naked. Just as Harry was about to come, I turned him over. I grabbed my wand and conjured a bottle of lubricant. I rubbed it all over his opening, and inserted my fingers into him. I stretched him and flexed him, and soon he was fully prepared. I then got on top of him, and gently eased myself into him. "Are you okay?" I asked tenderly. He nodded frantically, his eyes squeezed shut. My movements were slow at first, but soon became quicker and rougher. I hit his prostate, and he cried out and came at the same time I did. He shouted my name, and I called his.

I rolled off of him, and we both lay there for a few moments, and I wrapped my arms around him. "I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too, Draco," Harry said softly, smiling sadly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He sighed, then smiled again, and said, "Nothing's wrong, Draco. Everything's absolutely perfect." His smile then became slightly evil. "I thought I told you that you couldn't be on top."

"Wha—" I began, but before I could finish, Harry was on top of me, and he grinned. "This time, I get to be on top."

I grinned back in agreement, and he proceeded to do what I had done to him. When we were both spent, he rolled over, and I pulled him close again, then fell asleep with his head resting on my chest, and mine on his head.

**Harry's POV, first person**

I woke up a few hours later. Draco was still asleep, with his head on my head. All I wanted to do was stay there for a few more minutes, where I was safe, wrapped in his arms. But I knew I couldn't. I knew that if I stayed there any longer, I wouldn't be able to leave. So I gently pulled away from him, although it tore at my heart. I tried to not look at him, but I couldn't help it. I did, and I almost broke down right there. He was so beautiful, and he looked cold, and lonely. I pulled the covers up over him, and stroked his cheek. I kissed his lips, accepting the fact that I would probably never see him again. I them sat down and wrote him a letter explaining what I was going to do and why, and that I loved him and would always love him, even if I died. I then sealed it and left it on the bedside table, right where he would see it. I felt bad for making him wake up alone, but I knew that if I waited for him to wake up, he wouldn't let me leave. So I just kissed him one more time and left.

I walked briskly down the corridors to the Gryffindor common room. I left Hermione, Ron and Ginny letters saying what I was going to do, though I made sure that they wouldn't appear until I had done what I needed to. I did this by putting a charm on them. I felt certain that Hermione would come after me if she knew what I was was going to do, and I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't put anyone else I loved in danger. I quickly showered, and put on jeans and a t-shirt. I needed to wear light clothes that wouldn't get in my way. I then grabbed my wand, and my Firebolt. I wouldn't need anything else. I wasn't sure how I knew where I was going, but I was pretty sure that I would find it. I doubted it would be that hard.

**Draco's POV, first person**

I woke up a few hours later, and immediately noticed that there was something wrong. It might have been that Harry was gone, or it could have been the letter on the table, but I knew something screwy was going on. I leapt out of bed, grabbed the letter and slit it open with my wand. I read through it quickly, and stood up, yanking on some clothes. I needed to find Granger. She, much as I hated to admit it, would know what to do.

I met her halfway along my trip to Gryffindor Tower. She took one look at my freaked face and could immediately tell that something was wrong. "What happened?" She asked. I shoved Harry's letter under her nose. "Harry's gone," I said. "He left me this. He's gone to kill Voldemort."

**A/N:** It took me a while, but I hope it was worth it. Here's the teaser:

**Teaser:**

"Ah," said a high-pitched, ice-cold voice. "I thought you'd come Potter. Did you finally come to see that Dumbledore is really an old fool, and my way is better?"

"You got half that right," Harry sneered, and shouted, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

Voldemort laughed cruelly, and dodged it. "Nice try, Harry," he said. "Now let me try. _Avada Kedavra_!"

The green light shot towards Harry, who had nowhere to go. There was a wall of death eaters closing in on him, and he was trapped.

**A/N:** What did you think of that teaser? I liked it, but then again, I wrote it, so…I kind of have to. Lol. Review, please. It makes me happy. Now onto reviewer responses. I'm almost at 100! YAY! I love you all! Mwah! Mwah!

**Alora- **Sorry you didn't get to finish your review. I really like Tom Felton too. He's really hot. I love his blond hair, but I was so upset when he cut it all off. I was actually more pleased about the extended version of LOTR, ROTK, being released, since I'm totally in love with Orlando Bloom. Hope you like this chapter.

**dmweasley- **Glad you like it. Hope you like this chapter.

**L Moonshade- **Glad you like chocolate meringue. I do too. It's my favorite. I'm happy you appreciated what Ginny did to Ron. I really like it too. Hope you like this chapter!

**She Wolf Mama-** I'm happy that you liked it. It's okay that you didn't beta it. Hope you like the slash in this chapter. ;-).

**zoomaphonethepirate-** Sorry you don't like pie. I hope you like this chapter though.

**fanficfanatic-** I'm glad you like this story, and I'm sorry that you don't like Avril Lavigne, but I do, and since it's my story, that's all that really matters. And I disagree; I think songs should be quoted in stories, because I like music. And I know that it's all 'big kids' reading my story, but I decided that this would be a story in which the characters didn't cuss. Why? Because I wanted this, as my first H/D fic, to be a gentle one. I hope you like this chapter.

**Angel of the Carpathians- **I'm glad you like my story, and I appreciated your ideas, but I hope you don't mind that I didn't use them. I wanted to do my own thing. But I'll consider using them for another fic. Hope you like this!

**Cottoncandy- **I'm glad you like it! I really hope this chapter is good too.

**Fantasy101-** YAY! You like it! I'm happy. Your review made me feel warm and happy inside. I hope that you like this chapter. I updated as soon as I figured out what I wanted to do with this.

**Princesspepper- **Cool. I'm glad you liked the way they switched POVs. I hate Ron too. He should die and go to hell. Lol. I'm glad you thought it was funny. That makes me happy. It's weird, you know? I wasn't going to do a humor fic, but then I find myself trying to write funny lines that will make people laugh. And then other times I find myself making it depressing. I don't know why. I'm just crazy. I'm glad that you think my fic is good. I wish you luck! ¡Buenas Suerte! I love Spanish! Hope you like this chapter! See ya!

**Kitty Kitty Kat-** Wow, you're really nice. I'm glad you like it. I like it when reviewers tell me what they actually thought about my story, good or bad. Lol. I'm glad it rox your sox. Lol. Hope you like this chapter!

**D EDMUN-** Well, I hope that was close enough to Harry ripping Dumbledore a new one. Lol. Glad you think my writing's great. Hope you like this chapter!

**Darkness-Angel-2004-** Sorry it took me so long to update. I had other things going on. Hope you like this chapter!

**jim wenzel-** Thanks, Jim. I'm glad you like them. And I might do a humor fic involving Smelly Magrue. But only if you're nice to me. Love you too. I hope you like this chapter!

**A/N:** Wow! 14 different reviews from different people! 17 reviews in all! Y'all are so nice! Review more, and help me reach 100, please! My 100th reviewer will get a chapter dedicated to him/her. Adios!

-CatJetRat


	9. Fighting For Love

**A/N:** I think this will be the most exciting chapter yet. Hope y'all like it.

**Dedication: **_Skimmie_, for being my 100th reviewer!

**Chapter 9**

**Fighting for Love**

**Draco's POV, first person**

I watched Granger pace in my room, and I felt anxious. I began to chew on my nails, but soon stopped. It was a disgusting habit and besides, I would need my nails to claw Harry's eyes out the next time I saw him.

"We have to do something!" Granger burst out, and I jumped. She read the letter over again. "It's just so stupid! _Why_ would Harry go after Voldemort all by himself? He's only in sixth year, and he isn't educated enough! He's unprepared, and probably has no plan whatsoever! What was he _thinking_?"

I winced at Voldemort's name, but argued back all the same. "You don't know that he has no plan."

"It's kind of obvious!" Granger shouted, getting right in my face.

"How is it obvious?" I snarled, standing up to meet her. "Harry isn't stupid. He's battled You-Know-Who five times before, and always come out on top! What makes you so sure he won't this time?"

"That's just it!" Granger snapped. "Harry probably thinks that since he came out alive all those other times he doesn't have to worry about it! Taking down Voldemort is something that one would need to plan for months! And Harry hasn't!"

"How do you know?" I asked angrily.

"Because according to his letter, he only decided to do this last night because of something Dumbledore said," she said.

"Probably because he finally realized that his hero is really an old fool," I responded angrily.

"He is _not_ an old fool!" Granger yelled at me.

"Yes he is," I countered. "Have you considered that the only reason your side hasn't won the war by now is because Dumbledore keeps making hasty decisions that turn out to be wrong and cost your side a lot of people? Dumbledore also keeps sacrificing really good fighters and good people too, merely because he incorrectly thinks that it will help his side to get further along in the war."

Granger stared at me incredulously. "How do you know this?" she asked.

"How do you think, Granger? My father was, and is, a death eater right in the Dark Lord's inner circle. He told me all about it. He said that one of the main reasons he doesn't work for the 'Light' is because they are being lead by an idiot," I bit out.

"Yeah?" She snapped. "Prove it."

"Fine," I said, my temper flaring. "Edgar Bones, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Dorcas Meadowes. Any of them sound familiar?"

"Yes," Granger said defiantly. "They do. Edgar Bones was killed by death eaters. Gideon and Fabian Prewett fought like heroes, and it took 5 death eaters to kill them. Dorcas Meadowes got killed by Voldemort himself."

I smiled wryly. "Very good, Granger. You know your history well. They were all killed because Dumbledore made foolish or rash decisions. Gideon and Fabian died because Dumbledore left them to fend for themselves in a fight against death eaters. The Aurors were clearly losing, so Dumbledore decided to get everyone out of there, and he deemed that the Prewetts weren't worth it to 'waste' time and others saving them. So he left them there, alone. Edgar Bones died because Dumbledore rashly decided to start a fight against 10 death eaters when he had 5 men, merely because he thought that it was a perfect time, even though it wasn't. Dorcas Meadowes died because Dumbledore sent her to fight Voldemort while he got away. He clearly thought his own skin was worth more than hers. That evidence enough for you?"

Granger was white and shaking by the time I finished my little speech. "Yes," she whispered.

"I'm sorry, Granger," I said irritably.

"Hermione," Granger mumbled.

"What?" I asked, perhaps a bit too harshly.

She looked up at me, and I saw that her eyes were glimmering with unshed tears. "Call me Hermione. My best friend is dating you. We might as well be on first-name terms, Draco."

"Alright, _Hermione_," I said slowly.

She gave me a little half-smile, and sighed, then went over and sat on the bed. "I can't believe it. I always thought Dumbledore was so wise, and powerful."

I stood there for a few moments, and then I went over and sat beside her. "No one's denying that he's powerful," I said quietly, feeling slightly bad for upsetting her. "Just that he's misguided about how to use his power."

She nodded, wiping her eyes. "So," she said, and was suddenly firm and businesslike. "How do we save Harry?"

I thought about it for a few minutes, and then a smile came to my face. "I think I have an idea," I said slyly.

**Harry's POV**

Harry arrived at the graveyard about three hours after setting out. He felt grateful that it was still warm, or else he probably would have frozen to his broom. Harry looked around cautiously. He wasn't sure that Voldemort and his cronies would be here, but he had a gut feeling that they would be.

A light breeze ran through the graveyard, and he shivered. Being back in the place where he had seen Cedric die and had suffered so deeply was bad enough. Knowing that more suffering was still to come made it a great deal worse.

"Where are you?" Harry muttered, looking around. "Come on-show yourself!" He shouted this last bit, and stood warily with his wand at the ready. He was ready to perform the shielding charm at any possible moment, or even a curse. He had accepted that to defeat Voldemort he was probably going to have to use _Avada Kedavra_ on him. It was hard to imagine actually doing it-Harry himself had never been a cruel person, and he had only performed Cruciatus on Bellatrix because she killed Sirius.

Harry quickly reminded himself that Voldemort had killed his parents, Cedric, and countless others. He deserved what he had coming.

Telling himself this did nothing whatsoever to the big ball of fear invading his thoughts. He wondered if Draco would still love him after knowing he was a murderer. Or would he turn away in disgust, like he would have every right to do?

Harry pushed Draco from his mind, knowing that if he kept thinking about him he wouldn't be able to do what he needed to do. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck raised, and he knew it. The death eaters were here. A cold voice echoed through the graveyard, freezing the blood in Harry's veins.

"Harry Potter. To what do we owe this honor?" Lucius sneered.

"Your master's demise," Harry spat.

"Indeed?" Lucius said, sounding amused. "I shall go and fetch him, then." Lucius Disapparated, leaving Harry with the rest of the death eaters, who formed a disturbingly familiar circle around him. Harry thought that perhaps he should finish them off before Voldemort arrived, but too late….

"Ah," said a high-pitched, ice-cold voice. "I thought you'd come, Potter. Did you finally come to see that Dumbledore is really an old fool, and my way is better?"

"You got half that right," Harry sneered, and shouted, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

Voldemort laughed cruelly, and dodged it. "Nice try, Potter( I thought this fit better than Harry, because he has never called him that in the past)," he said. "Now let me try. _Avada Kedavra_!"

The green light shot towards Harry, who had nowhere to go. There was a wall of death eaters closing in on him, and he was trapped. He dropped to the floor, and the spell hit one of the death eaters. Harry felt sick as he heard a body drop heavily to the floor. _That person died, instead of me_, was the only thing his brain was capable of thinking at the moment. With an enormous effort, he brought himself to look at the dead death eater. It was Macnair, the executioner who'd been assigned to kill Buckbeak in Harry's third year. Harry felt bile splash the back of his throat. Harry swallowed with difficulty, and stood up.

"You fool," Voldemort snarled. "You killed my death eater."

"I didn't kill anyone," Harry snapped. "You killed him. All I did was avoid dying."

"Do not mock me," Voldemort hissed. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

Harry rolled out of the gap in the circle where Macnair had been, and avoided the curse. He sprang up, but just when he was reaching his full height, someone crashed into him from behind. He was knocked to the floor, and the wind was slammed out of him. He caught his breath and shoved the body off of him. He jumped up, his wand pointing at the person, a deadly curse on his lips, but his words failed him when he saw who it was.

**Draco's POV**

"So all we have to do is have a piece of Harry's clothing, or something, and then we can summon him?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.

Draco shook his head. "Of course not. We still have to set everything up, then we both have to drink the potion, and make a blood sacrifice."

"A-A _blood_ sacrifice?" Hermione stammered.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Relax, Hermione, it's not like anyone has to die. All that happens is after we drink the potion, we have to make a small cut on our body somewhere and get out ten drops of blood each."

"Can't we just wait until I get my period?" Hermione asked hopefully.

Draco squeezed his eyes shut. "Okay, that was the grossest thing I ever heard in my life, but I'm just going to pretend you didn't say it."

Hermione slumped back in her seat, looking rather put out. "I still don't understand why we have to use dark magic to save Harry," she whined.

"Because that's the only type of magic that has spells like these," Draco snapped. "Or would you rather wait and have Harry come home in pieces?"

Hermione sighed. "I guess this is better than nothing."

"Damn straight," Draco said. "Now help me get these potion ingredients ready."

**Harry's POV**

"_Ron_," Harry breathed. "What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

Ron got unsteadily to his feet. He was shaking. "I-I overheard Malfoy and Hermione talking about you, and how you'd gone off to fight You-Know-Who. I…I just couldn't bring myself to leave you here to fight him alone."

At these words, Harry's heart melted, and he felt horrible. He realized now that Ron was indeed a true friend. So he had freaked out a bit when he realized Harry was gay. But now Harry could see that when he needed a friend the most, Ron would be there. He held a hand out to Ron, who looked surprised.

"I'm really s-sorry," Ron stammered. "I shouldn't have left you when you told me you were gay."

"No, you shouldn't have," Harry said, and then he smiled. "But I forgive you. We all do things we regret. Don't worry about it."

Ron returned the smile, but this moment was interrupted by a cruel voice. "Isn't that sweet," Voldemort sneered. " So the 'Boy Who Lived' is gay. Imagine that. Fortunately for you many people I like ( I think you should put ' many of my loyal servants' here, because it fits better) are gay, so I have nothing against them. But I do have something against you."

"Why? Is it because I've defeated you four times? Or is it because I was only one year old when I first beat you?" Harry sneered.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed, and he screamed, "Avada Kedavra!" at the same time Harry did. Now the first time this had happened, the spells had met in midair, and had connected the two wands. But this time, the two spells passed right by each other, and they were so bright neither Harry nor Lord Voldemort could see what was happening. But Ron did. He knocked Harry to the ground once more, and they both avoided the Killing Curse. Voldemort was not so lucky. His so-called _'faithful'_ death eaters saw the curse coming, and instead of risking their necks to save their master, they all ran out of the way, leaving Voldemort to fully take the curse. It hit him straight in the chest, and he was thrown off balance. He stood there, gasping, and sank to the floor, not quite dead yet. Harry knew he had to finish it. He stood up, and Ron stood with him. Harry carefully walked over to where Voldemort was.

Voldemort looked up at him, and he said, in a cracked voice, "Going to kill me, Harry?"

Harry froze. Those were the same words Sirius had said in Harry's third year, when Harry had thought Sirius killed his parents. Harry closed his eyes briefly, and Draco's face flashed before them, and he knew that he had to kill Voldemort if he wanted his love to live. He then opened them, breathing heavily.

"Yes," he whispered. "You killed my parents, Cedric, and countless others. Your minions have tortured and killed many. Bellatrix killed my godfather. You are going to kill many more, and so are they, unless I end it now, tonight. I never wanted to be a murderer, but I have no choice. Do you want to know what the prophecy said? It said that one of us was going to have to die at the hands of the other. I'm sorry. Goodbye, Tom. _AVADA KEDAVRA!_"

A huge green light erupted from the end of his wand, almost blasting Harry off his feet, but instead just making Harry sink to his knees. It consumed Voldemort, yet Harry could still see his face through the light. Tom(for that was truly who he was at that moment) gave Harry a sad smile, before the green light sank into his skin. He turned to ash before Harry's eyes, and then it was over. All that was left was a figure of ash. Harry stood up, and walked over to it. He reached out and touched its cheek. The figure dissolved, and a breeze swept through the graveyard, blowing the ashes at Harry, past his face. They flew up into the air, and Harry knew that it was over. It was at last over.

No one dared to speak as an eerie silence fell. Ron walked over to Harry. Harry looked up at him. No words were needed. Ron took Harry's hand and squeezed it, and then they were both lifted off their feet, and a second later they were standing in the middle of the Quidditch pitch.

**Draco's POV, first person**

"HAH! I_ told_ you it would work!" I declared triumphantly. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered.

I looked over at Harry. I frowned. Wait…why was Weasley with him, and-HEY! Why was he holding hands with MY boyfriend! But I quickly saw that Harry was close to crying, and I realized we had been too late. Harry had done it Voldemort was gone. I stood up and walked over to him. Weasley dropped Harry's hand and walked over to Hermione, where they began conversing quietly.

"Harry?" I asked gently. He looked up at me, tears in his eyes.

"Do you hate me?" He blurted out.

I shook my head. "No, of course not. I could never hate you. Come here." I held out my arms, and Harry fell into them, sobbing. I stroked his hair gently, whispering soothing words of comfort.

Hermione and Ron walked over. They were being civil with each other, which was good, but they were walking rather far apart. "We're going to tell Dumbledore what's happened," Hermione said softly.

I nodded, and they walked away, up towards the castle. I continued to hold Harry as he sobbed into my jacket. I picked him up, which was no easy task, let me tell you, considering he weighed about ten pounds more than I did. But I didn't care. He needed me right now. I carried him back up to the castle and to our room. I cracked about halfway up to the castle and performed a quick little spell to make him as light as a feather.

When we reached my room I set him gently on the bed and lifted the spell. "Sleep," I whispered. He nodded, and fell sound asleep.

I left the room, locking it securely. I stormed up to Dumbledore's office. I shouted the password, which Harry had told me. I stormed up the spiral staircase and blasted the door open. "How DARE you!" I shrieked at Dumbledore, who looked quite alarmed.

"Mister Malfoy, contain yourself!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, looking appalled.

"NO!" I shouted. "If he hadn't been selfish, Harry wouldn't have had to be a killer! Oh yeah, I know," I snapped at his surprised face. "I know exactly what you did. How DARE you put him in such danger!"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, looking confused.

I gave a flat little laugh. "You want to know what he did?" I said, pointing a shaking finger at Dumbledore. "He set Harry up! He knew that if he gave Harry the impression that he would be willing to sacrifice the people Harry loved, Harry would go after You-Know-Who himself rather then let Dumbledore sacrifice us. And Dumbledore was right! Harry did! And now the Dark Lord is defeated. I bet you're just so pleased, aren't you, you bastard?"

Dumbledore bowed his head, looking rather ashamed. "I'm afraid Mister Malfoy is right. I did indeed know what buttons to push on Harry. I had just received information that Voldemort was preparing for an attack directly on the wizarding world in two days. I needed Harry to defeat Voldemort now, before Voldemort became too powerful. I'm sorry I had to resort to that, but if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't do anything differently."

I glared at the old wizard. "You could have just _told_ Harry all that, and asked him to go battle Voldemort."

Dumbledore sighed. "You don't understand. Harry had to think he was fighting for you, or else it wouldn't have worked. Harry survived because of his mother's love for him. Harry defeated Voldemort because of his love for you. I'm sorry, but that's the way it had to be."

I stared at him, and then I realized exactly what I didn't want to. That he was right. I looked away and said, "Just make sure Harry never has to deal with anything like this again unless he wants to." I then turned and walked out of the office.

**Normal POV**

"I'll send word to Fudge," Dumbledore said. "Minerva, could you inform the Daily Prophet? The wizarding world will want to know. Make sure they know that it was Harry who defeated him. Ron, could you make sure that all your fellow house members get down to the Great Hall immediately? Hermione, I hear that your girlfriend is in Slytherin. Could you go tell her what happened, and have her tell her fellow house members? I understand Miss Weasley is acquainted with a Miss Lovegood of Ravenclaw. Ask her to ask Miss Lovegood to tell the Ravenclaws to go down to the Great Hall. I believe you are both friendly with Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff. Could one of you tell him what has happened, and ask him to tell the Hufflepuffs to also go down to the Great Hall?"

"Yes sir," Hermione and Ron said.

"Very good," Dumbledore said, and they both left. He got out a pen and paper and began writing to the Minister of Magic.

**Draco's POV, first person**

I lay on the bed, next to Harry. I stroked his hair gently, waking him up. He looked up at me and gave me a sad smile. I returned it, then said, "Dumbledore's holding a celebration feast down in the Great Hall, and he wants you to be there. Do you want to go?"

Harry shook his head, and leaned up and kissed me. I kissed him back sweetly, loving the feel of him against me. He broke the kiss, and gave me a real smile. "I think I would rather just stay up here with you."

I nodded, making no protest. Personally, I preferred it this way. I leaned down and kissed him again.

**A/N:** Wow. I can't even believe how long it's been since I updated. Sorry. I was suffering an awful case of writer's block. I hope you all liked this chapter. It was quite difficult. It's the second to last chapter. The next chapter will be the Epilogue. Yes, it is finally ending. Sorry! Ducks as things are thrown. But I hope you liked it. It was my first chapter Harry/Draco fic, and will forever be in my heart. But I've got a new one prepared and ready to go, and it's one I love to death. Much better than this fic. Okay, I've had a request to stop responding to reviews, so after this chapter I will do that, unless there is a question in the review, or you ask me to respond. There will be no teaser, since this story is almost done. Now, onto reviewer responses! I love you all! Mwah! Mwah!

Starrarose- Alright, I'll stop, just for you. Glad you like the story.

Pure Black- Thanks for saying you like my story. No Ginny isn't together w/ anyone in this story. Sorry

Alora- Lol. I love Tom Felton too. He's one of the main reasons I love the HP movies. But I'm in love w/ Orly. I need to see Phantom of the Opera. I haven't yet. It's okay. I don't mind the misspelled words. Hope you like this chapter!

Princesspepper- Lol, don't worry. This is a happy fic. I love Spanish too. Sorry for being so short. I'm trying to do this in between classes, lol. Hope you like this chapter!

zoomaphonethepirate- Lol, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Don't worry. No one's going to die. Hope you like this chapter!

skimmie- YAY! You were my 100th reviewer! Hope you like this chapter!

Blackbeltdevil04- Glad you like it. Hope you like this chapter too.

Dyers-Eve- Lol. Sorry you hate Avril. It's cool. I would have put in a Metallica song, but I don't have one of their CDs, and I didn't want to mutilate one of their songs. Hope you like this chapter!

Liri C- I've updated! Hope you like it!

**A/N: **Lol, so many of you thought I was going to kill off Harry. Don't worry. I'll never kill off a character without due warning. Review, please! It makes me happy! Adios!

CatJetRat


	10. Epilogue

**A/N:** Wow, this is the last chapter. I can't even believe it. I've had so much fun with this fic. See, it was my first ever Harry/Draco fanfic, one I hadn't planned at all. It hasn't turned out at all like I thought it would. But I like it. It's decent enough, for my first one. But I've got a much better one planned. I've already written the first chapter, and I just want to get a few of them finished before I begin posting. And I want to perfect the Harry/Draco scene. I'm still having trouble with it. Also, I want to wait until I get Internet at home again before I try to put another story up. Wow, there are so many people I want to dedicate this chapter to. First, my wonderful beta, **musicgirl141**. She's a great person, and a talented beta. Thanks, Jen. Next, **zoomaphonethepirate**, who's pretty much stuck with me through this fic. And also, **Alora**, who has also stuck with me. **L Moonshade**, though s/he hasn't reviewed every chapter, s/he was one of the first reviewers whose review was quite helpful to me. And** She Wolf**, who, considering, has really been great about this whole slash thing. But most especially, I would like to dedicate this to **Princesspepper**. She's reviewed every single Just Like You chapter I've written, and I really appreciate that. She's stuck with me, through the bad chapters and the good, and I'm really grateful. Thanks so much. You're the best. I hope you all enjoy this little Epilogue. Last chapter. Better get a move on. Thank you so much, to everyone who's EVER reviewed. It means all the world to me. Thank you. Adios!

CatJetRat

**Chapter 10**

**Epilogue**

**Normal POV**

Harry woke up, feeling rather groggy. His head hurt, and his entire body felt sore. He groaned, and rolled over, hoping to fall into Draco's arms. No luck. The bed was empty. He frowned, still trying to get his bearings. He reached for his glasses, before remembering that he didn't need them. Seamus had fixed his eyes. He blinked a few times, rubbing them, and then the room came into focus. Draco wasn't anywhere in sight.

Harry stumbled into the bathroom, and, after relieving himself, turned the faucet on. The cool water against his burning skin felt like bliss, and he moaned happily. He looked up into the mirror, and saw dark circles under his eyes. He was chalk-white. Familiar emerald eyes glinted up at him, but they weren't as bright as they had normally been. They looked dark, and haunted. Suddenly he couldn't bear to see his face anymore. The face of a murderer. He buried his face in his hands, and tried to cry, but found he couldn't. He stared into the sink, feeling dead inside. He was detached from the world. He gazed at the drain, and pulled the metal stopper out. He gazed into the dark hole, wishing he could just fall into it, and cure the aching pain in his chest. He wanted to feel nothing, to sleep, to fall, to die. Why should he live anyway? He was a killer. Evil by nature. He didn't deserve life.

Harry shook his head, trying to avoid thinking about these thoughts. He looked into the mirror again, and for a second, he thought he was seeing double. Except… opposite doubles. Instead of black hair he had blond. Instead of green eyes he had silver. But matching pale skin. He blinked, realizing that it was Draco.

"Hey," Draco said smiling.

Harry looked away. Though he had initially wanted Draco with him, now all he wanted was to be alone. "Hi," he muttered, turning around and brushing past Draco. He pulled a T-shirt on over his head and shoved jeans on. He began heading out the door when he felt Draco grab his arm.

"What!" Harry snapped. Draco quickly dropped his arm like it was burning him.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.

"Where I want," Harry said shortly, and was almost out the door when he felt Draco grab his arm again.

"What is wrong with you!" Draco exclaimed.

Harry looked down at Draco's hand that was still grasping his arm. "Let go of my arm," he said in an icy voice.

"No," Draco said flatly. " Not till you tell me what's going on."

"Screw you," Harry said angrily, and yanked out his wand. "_Reducto_!"

Draco was blasted off his feet, and landed on the bed. He recovered quickly though, and jumped off the bed, annoyance flashing in his eyes.

"Oh, so that's the way you want to play it, is it?" Draco said coldly, pulling out his wand.

Harry gave a chilling laugh. "You do _not_ want to duel me, Malfoy. I-" but before he could finish his sentence, Draco shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!" and Harry was thrown off of his feet. His wand flew up into the air, and Draco caught it triumphantly, before throwing both wands on the bed. He then jumped on top of Harry before he could get up. Harry fought him tooth and nail, shouting cuss words, telling Draco he hated him, before he simply was out of strength and couldn't fight anymore. He dissolved into tears, and melted in to Draco's arms, weeping. Draco held him tightly, being strong for his lover.

"It's okay," Draco whispered. "I'm here for you. I always am. I always will be."

Harry nodded, pulling away from Draco slightly and wiping his eyes. "I know. I'm so sorry. I just…I can't stand the fact that I killed him. I didn't want to. I feel like I lowered myself to his level, and it kills me."

Draco shook his head. "You didn't lower yourself to anything, do you understand me?" he said roughly. "No, look at me; Harry, he deserved so much more than what you gave him. Weasley told me what happened. Don't think for a minute he didn't deserve every bit of what he got, and so much more. A fitting punishment for him would be to tie him to a chair without his wand, and let every person he's ever hurt have a go at him. But you didn't do that. You gave him a quick and essentially painless death. You showed him mercy. Don't feel at all bad."

Harry nodded and sank back into his lover's arms, suddenly feeling really horrid for all the things he'd said to Draco. "I'm really sorry," he repeated.

Draco nodded. "I know. It's okay; I understand." He paused, then said, "I love you."

Harry smiled. The only time he had ever heard Draco say that had been after he'd had his orgasm. Somehow, hearing him say it now, at the hardest of times, made it seem that much more real.

"I love you too," he whispered, before falling asleep in Draco's arms.

**Pansy's POV**

"Oh, that's delicious!" I giggled, stroking Hermione's hair as she told me the details of Draco's intrusion into Dumbledore's office. We were sitting in my room, on a large armchair.

Hermione frowned slightly. "I still don't understand how Dumbledore could be so cold," she muttered.

I could see how much this was upsetting her, so I tried to be comforting. "He was just doing what he deemed to be best for everyone," I told her. "If it helps any, he's usually just thinking about other people when he makes his decisions."

"Whatever," Hermione muttered, leaning back in my arms. I smiled evilly, and then began tickling her. She squeaked and started squirming in my arms. I laughed as she fell out of my lap onto the floor. I dove on top of her, tickling her mercilessly. She squealed and giggled, begging me for mercy. I laughed and released her, sinking back down onto the chair. She spent a few moments catching her breath, then she jumped on top of me.

"PAYBACK!" she shrieked, and started to also tickle me. I laughed, and grabbed her arms, holding her hands away from me. She gazed at me intensely, and I realized the passion of the situation. I was holding her arms, and she was sitting in between my legs, her knee wedged in my crotch. My breathing became ragged and harsh, and she leaned down and kissed me hard. Hmm…looked like tonight was going to be fun.

**Ron's POV **

I sat in the Great Hall alone, feeling quite bored. Everyone else had gone to bed except me and some lone Slytherin. Even all except two of the staff were gone. It was around nine o' clock PM, and I was chewing on something chocolaty and drinking some hot chocolate, hoping to forget all that had happened. I felt glad that I'd stood by Harry's side, but it had been hard, because I had seen how much having to kill someone had hurt him, and all I wanted to do was take that burden off of his shoulders, but I couldn't. I felt like I should do something, though. I knew he had forgiven me, but I still couldn't understand why I had left his side when he needed me the most.

"Must be some lapse in brain functioning," I reasoned to myself, taking another sip of my hot chocolate.

"You know, if you talk to yourself enough, people will start to think you're crazy."

I whipped around. It was that Slytherin who had also stayed in the Great Hall. He looked faintly familiar. "Ronald Weasley, right?" I nodded, still staring at him. "You mind if I take that seat?" he asked, a slightly nervous smile on his face.

I shook my head, not taking my eyes off of him. He was just a little bit taller than me, and he had dark brown, chocolate eyes, curly brown hair that was just begging someone to run their fingers through it, tanned skin, and thick, sultry black eyelashes. I found I couldn't look away. I shook my head quickly. What was happening to me? I wasn't GAY! Yeah, I was accepting it with Harry, but not me too! I tried to get rid of these thoughts.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Blaise Zabini," he answered. He grabbed an éclair off of the huge plate in front of us, and uncertainly bit into it. "I heard what you did for Harry. That was really brave of you. I thought that you abandoning him beforehand was kind of shitty, but you seem to understand that."

I nodded. For some strange reason, I suddenly felt that I would do anything to make him think I was worth something. "I won the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor last year," I blurted out.

He nodded. "Yeah, I saw you. You were really good, though from where I was people were acting like you weren't." He smiled.

"Do you play any sports?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No, but I do play guitar. Do you want to listen?" he asked, looking slightly hopeful. I nodded quickly. He pulled out his wand and summoned his guitar from his bedroom. He tuned it, and then played a song called "My Immortal," by a Muggle band called Evanescence. I stared at him in slight awe. When he finished, I applauded loudly.

"Wow," I said. "You were really good. You have a really nice voice."

He smiled shyly. "You think so? Some people say it's too high-pitched, and sounds like a girl's voice."

I shook my head. "No; they're just jealous. You have the perfect mixture of deepness and high pitched voice. And it flows smoothly, like water."

Blaise blushed. "Thanks," he murmured, bowing his head.

I reached out and, putting two fingers under his chin, lifted his head up. His eyes met mine, and I was mesmerized by deep brown pools of chocolate. I lowered my eyes to his full pink lips. He set his guitar aside, and leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back hard without hesitation. He quickly banished his guitar with a wave of his wand, and stood up, holding out his hand.

"Do you want to come up to the Slytherin common room with me?" He asked in that shy, sweet voice I was beginning to fall in love with. I looked up into his beautiful chocolate eyes again, and briefly noted the irony of the situation, before nodding and reaching out and taking his hand. Hell, who gave a crap if I was gay? He was gorgeous enough for it.

**Dumbledore's POV**

I took another sip of my tea as I watched the two boys walk out of the Great Hall, hands clasped. I heaved an enormous sigh. "Oh Minerva," I murmured. "This really _has_ been a very interesting start to the school year, has it not?"

She nodded, pursing her lips and looking away. She sipped her tea again, and couldn't seem to contain herself anymore. She slammed her teacup down, looking at me furiously. "Why did you do it, Albus?" She demanded angrily.

I looked down into my teacup, and found I was unable to lift my head back up and stare into those fuming, betrayed eyes. "Remember when we first started the Order?" She nodded. "Remember what we promised each other?"

"That no matter what, we'd do whatever it took to destroy Voldemort," she whispered. Apparently she no longer had any qualms about saying his name.

"Yes. I'm not proud about what I did, but if I had to go back, I wouldn't change a thing."

She nodded, picking her teacup back up. "I understand, Albus," she whispered.

I smiled sadly, and, trying to clear the air, said, "Oh, Minerva, you've always gotten on my nervas." We shared a quiet laugh at this inside joke, before I said, in a more serious voice, "But really, Minerva, you've always been there for me, and I really appreciate it."

Professor McGonagall smiled at me over the brim of her cup, and then we shared a long, slow…sip of tea.

**Harry's POV**

I gasped, rolling off of Draco after coming inside of him. I caught my breath, and leaned over and kissed him. He kissed me back, a slow, sweet kiss. "Harry," he murmured.

"Yes?" I said.

"Will you marry me when we get out of school?"

My breath caught in my throat, and I said in a choked voice, "Of course I will, Draco."

Draco smiled. "I love you Harry," he said softly. I smiled, and rolled back on top of him, to remind him just how much I returned that feeling. Damn, this year was going to be good.

**Dumbledore's POV**

"More tea, Minerva?

"Why thank you, Albus."

**Draco's POV, three years later.**

I fretfully straightened my hair in the mirror, and hissed at anyone who dared to come near me.

"Draco, just let me-DRACO!" Hermione yelled. I stopped and slumped down in a chair.

"What!" I asked angrily.

"Just let me do it," she said in a gentle voice. I agreed, albeit quite reluctantly. She sighed and reached out and started brushing my hair. I fidgeted restlessly, and once she was done, I stood up and started pacing again. Hermione sat there with a brush and a patient expression on her face. I nervously straightened my bowtie and smoothed out the creases in my tux. Hermione smiled fondly at me, and came over and straightened out my bow for me. I gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry I'm being so difficult," I said, bowing my head. "I'm just so excited, and so nervous! I can't believe I'm actually getting married."

Hermione smiled at me again, and said, "Well, at least you're getting married to the person you love the most."

My eyes lit up as I thought of Harry. If I'd thought I'd been in love three years ago when we had first started dating, it was nothing compared to the way I was feeling now. All the stars in the universe couldn't compare to the love I felt for Harry. I would have done anything for him. Hermione held out her arm to me. "Come on," she said. "It's time."

I nodded and took her arm. Pansy got on the other side of me, and together we walked out of the tent into the Forbidden Forest. Everyone was there, as was every creature. Hagrid was there, as were all the centaurs, who had allowed us to use the forest for the day. The unicorns had showed up, and even the merpeople had stuck their heads out of the water to watch. I suppose all the magical creatures could sense that this was an extraordinary bonding. All the Weasleys were there, and even my father and mother had been let out of prison to come. Ron and Blaise were standing side by side, holding hands. I smirked as I remembered how much Harry and I and so many others had laughed at the irony of this situation. They separated to be on the proper sides; Ron on Harry's, Blaise on mine. Theodore Nott was there, and so were Crabbe and Goyle, looking dumb as usual. Seamus, Dean, and Neville were there, as was Oliver Wood, Harry's old Quidditch captain, and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Most of the Professors were there too. Remus Lupin and the rest of the Order had come. Creevey was there too, his camera flashing annoyingly. But I ignored all of them, and merely focused on Harry, standing at the end of the aisle. He smiled at me. Behind him was Dumbledore, who was to marry us. With some reluctance, Harry and I had both forgiven him. Fawkes was standing perched on his shoulder. When we reached the end, Hermione released my arm and kissed Harry on the cheek, before taking her place beside Ron and Ginny on Harry's side. I waited for Pansy to release me, but she didn't. Instead, she leaned close to Harry and said, "I promise you that if you hurt him Potter, I will personally hunt you down and kill you."

Harry gave a small laugh. "You needn't worry about that, Pansy. I'd kill myself first. I love him more than all the world."

"You'd better," Pansy grumbled, then turned to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then turned back to Harry and jumped on him. I stood there, sort of taken aback, and then I saw Pansy start to kiss Harry ferociously on the lips. He looked shocked for about half a second, and then angry as he started trying to shove her off. I grabbed her around the waist, and together we managed to get her off. She wandered lazily over to my side to stand next to Blaise.

"Sorry, everyone," she shouted. "Just wanted to make sure he's really gay and in love with Draco! Don't worry; he passed the test!" Everyone else seemed to accept this explanation, and turned back to watching me and Harry. I, however, didn't buy this at all, and for good reason. As I turned back to Harry, I heard her mutter to Blaise, "And I just wanted to do that once before he got married. Damn, he's hot, and so is Draco. But I already kissed him when we dated in fourth year." I saw Hermione's eyes narrow, but Pansy caught her gaze and smiled sweetly. Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Slut."

My eyes narrowed also, and I was about to jump on Pansy for an entirely different reason than she had jumped on Harry for. The strangling reason, mainly. However, Harry, sensing what I was about to do, lay a careful hand on my wrist, causing me to look back at him, and once I caught sight of emerald eyes, I found I couldn't look away. Dumbledore started talking, but I didn't pay any attention at all. All I did was stare at my love. His lips were moving, and I tuned in.

"Draco?" Harry asked gently, a slight smile on his face. "Do you have your vows?"

I gave a little jump and nodded quickly, pulling them out of my pocket. I began speaking.

"Harry, when I first met you, the only thing on my mind was what my father had told me, to be friends with you, in the hopes that you might become a death eater." I glanced at my father in the crowd briefly, before looking back at Harry. "And then you turned me down and the rivalry began. We made each other's lives hell for many years." I smiled slightly. "I remember when Ron's curse on me backfired and he was coughing up slugs for days." Slight laughter from the crowd, though Ron turned a little red, and Blaise became rather green, and called, "That's the last time I'm kissing you, Weasley." Ron turned slightly white at this, and looked like he was restraining himself, for Harry's sake, from walking over to Blaise and planting one on his lips.

I smirked and resumed my recital of my vows. "I also remember when I held back your broom in third year. You were so mad at me. You tried to hit me, but couldn't reach." There was a slight grumbling from Harry's old Quidditch team at this. "And I also remember when I saw you at the Yule Ball fourth year. I thought you were stunning. Those robes really did match your exquisite eyes. But I quickly pushed those thoughts away. I was a boy, and I was supposed to hate you. However, what I remember the most is when you wandered into that bush in sixth year and you saw what had happened to me, and I found that, despite all of our differences…" I looked up into his eyes, and we both spoke at the same time.

"I was just like you."

**A/N:** Sobs. My baby is all grown up! WAH! I can't believe it. Damn. It's so weird. I guess I always sort of thought it would last forever, but I guess not. Ah, well, all good things must come to an end, or else they won't be good anymore. I just can't believe I'm done. It was such a big part of my life for so long. I hope that it brought a little bit of joy to even _one_ person's life. Thanks to all my beautiful reviewers. I know you brought joy to _my_ life. And now it's over. It was my first one, and I'm glad it turned out so well. I never really thought it was that good in the first place. At least now I have a much better one lined up. The first two chapters are written; I'm just torn as to whether I should post my Legolas/Aragorn story first. Give me feedback, please. I hope you all liked this chapter. Epilogue. Ending. WAH! Sorry, but this is a very emotional experience for me. Please review. I love you all! MWAH! MWAH! Adios, for the final time for this story!

CatJetRat


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